Pursuit
by Tobias
Summary: It seemed 'innocent' enough. A bright yellow Camaro being chased by the police. But it wouldn't be until after the chase, the real trouble began.
1. Pursuit Of: A Yellow Camaro

"_Adam 553 to dispatch."_

"_Go for Adam."_

"_I'm signaling for a traffic stop for a yellow '09 Camaro. Tag number: Four-November-Zulu-Zulu-Four-Five-Four. Citing speed and tinted windows."_

"_Copy Adam 553. I'll run the plates."_

The state trooper put away his radar gun, pulling off the side of the highway, quickly catching up to the speeding Camaro. He hadn't hit his lights yet, he was busy trying to spot the driver inside the car, but couldn't seem to make anyone out.

On the other side,

Bumblebee was busy cruising around the highway, with Sam in school and everyone else either busy of helping their charges, he was free to cruise the highway for the next few hours.

He had been so wrapped up in the music on the radio and the feel of the wind around him that he hadn't keep track of his speed, even after Sam had warned him numerous times before. Every time he was told that if he didn't watch his speed, he was going to get pulled over by the police, and he would have a hard time taking on the ticket without the driver.

But once again, he had forgotten, and it would appear Karma wasn't on his side today.

Sure enough, he heard the siren blare behind him, and his rear sensors detected the flashing lights. Silently he cursed himself and his luck.

_Could be worse._ He reasoned. _Could be Barricade._ He admitted, revving his engine slightly as he pulled off to the side of the road, quickly working through his options.

His sensors could easily detect the cop walking slowly along his side. Bumblebee was quick to project a human in the driver's seat, rolling his window down as the cop approached.

"Do you know why I pulled you over today?" The cop asked, trying to read the body language of the hologram. Bumblebee cursed himself again. _I didn't think he'd be asking questions!_ He thought, quickly searching the world wide web for the best answer before forcing his still slightly damaged vocal processor to speak in place of the hologram. "I guess I was doing a little over the speed limit, officer."

_That sounded bad._ Bumblebee thought to himself.

"You sound a little sick," The officer observed. "Touch of the flu?"

Another quick search of the web told him that the flu was a common illness among humans. He forced his vocal processor to respond. "Heh, just a little."

The officer nodded. "The speed limit here is only sixty-five miles an hour." Bumblebee hologram nodded. "I clocked you at well over ninety."

_Sounds like trouble…_

"Sir," The officer started. "I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the vehicle."

_Lots of trouble._

"Sir?" The officer repeated. "Step out of the vehicle, I won't ask you again."

Bumblebee cursed himself, quickly shifting into drive and burning rubber out of there, taking off down the highway, hitting triple digit speeds.

"_Adam 553 to dispatch! Suspect is running! Driver is a white male, about twenty-five years of age! Requesting backup and a chopper!"_

"_All units, all units, Adam 553 in pursuit of a yellow Camaro. Twenty-five year old Caucasian driver, pursuit is a code three."_

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Sam sighed sitting in his classroom. He looked up at the clock.

_Only one more hour to go._ He thought, ignoring the history teacher as he droned on. _Man… why is it that school just seems so boring after saving the world from evil alien robots… then again…_ His thoughts were interrupted when another kid burst into the classroom. "Everyone! Sam's car is on TV!"

"What?!" Sam asked, quickly looking over at Mikeala. "This cannot be good." He said, as one of his classmates, completely ignoring the teacher, turned on the classroom TV.

Everyone had a front row seat as the local news station was reporting on a pursuit in progress, and there, on the TV screen was Bumblebee.

"I don't believe it." Sam sighed, banging his head on the desk.

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_Oh man, this is bad, this is really, really bad._ Bumblebee was cursing himself as he used every ounce of skill he had to weave in and out of traffic, trying his hardest to get further away from the police. And while he didn't want to admit it, he knew he was going to need help. Especially with that thing the human's called a helicopter over head.

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Captain William Lennox stood in his front yard, a bucket of soapy water in one hand, the hose in the other. He was grinning slightly, staring at the black GMC truck in his driveway. "Guess what time it is again." Lennox said, walking towards the truck.

Ironhide revved his engine in annoyance when Lennox approached. He hated these monthly 'car washings', even if they did kind of feel good.

"Now, now." Lennox offered. "Lets not do it like we had to last time. I'm still trying to convince my neighbors that they've had that hole in their roof for years."

"Fine." Ironhide said through his radio. "Just try and keep the suds out of my engine this time."

Lennox had turned on the hose, starting to spray out Ironhide's truck bed, just as Bumblebee's transmission made it through. _"I could use a little help here!"_

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Sam watched as more and more cop cars joined in the chase of what they thought was a speeder on the run, not some giant alien robot. He laughed at himself a little. _Oh if only they knew what they were chasing._

He jumped a little in his seat, hearing the loud truck horn blare outside the school's window. He looked over, not at all surprised to See Optimus sitting in the school's parking lot, in truck form.

Again, ignoring the teacher, Sam bolted from his seat, Mikeala in tow.

Making themselves as comfortable as they could in Optimus' cab, they started to piece together what was going on.

"_So now I'm being chased by the police and I don't know what to do. Obviously, I can't transform, but I can't shake this helicopter thing either. I'd hate to say it, but I need help here guys."_

Sam sighed, sitting back further into his seat as he tried to think of a way out of the situation. "What do we have available that could remotely help?" He asked out loud. But it was more for himself then anyone else.

"We have a Hummer Ambulance, a giant pick-up, and an eighteen wheeler." Mikeala said. "Oh, and they can all transform into giant droids and have and have a death match."

Sam rolled his eyes, any other time he would have laughed at the joke, but now he was worried about Bee. The yellow Camaro was currently being chased by fifteen cops and was calling out to everyone for help. He already figured that Lennox knew what was going on because of Ironhide. He sighed again, shrugging his shoulders. "We'd need a cop that was on our side… but the only one who knows we exists lives by the phrase 'to punish and enslave', so I doubt he'll be any help." Sam finished as Optimus entered the clearing, Ratchet, Ironhide, and Lennox already waiting for him.

"Any bright ideas?" Lennox asked, seeing the new comers pull up.

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The black Impala sat on the side of the highway, police chatter coming off the radio for it's two occupants to clearly hear, they knew of the police chase a few miles behind them, and were waiting for it to pass so they could see the car being chased.

In the driver seat, sat a man no older then thirty-five. Action movie looking sunglasses covered his eyes as he watched the traffic pass by him, completely ignoring his female partner in the passenger seat who was drumming her fingers on the dashboard.

"Do you think it's-" The girl started.

"Probably." He cut her off.

"Do you think they-"

"Uh, huh."

"Bryan, will you let me finish my sentence?"

"Nope." The man, Bryan, grinned, looking over at Kasey. "Will you stop?" He laughed. "You starting to sound like my ex-wife." He added, grinning back at her while she rolled her eyes.

"I wonder why she's your ex-wife." Kasey quipped, looking over her shoulder, hearing the Camaro's engine scream past them.

"Was that-" She started, cut off again.

"Yup."

"Was he being-"

"Looked that way." Bryan cut her off again.

"Are we going to-"

"Nope." He stopped her, placing his hands in his lap, pretending to try and take a nap.

Kasey rolled her eyes. "Keep this up and you won't have to worry about getting married. Now will you knock it off? It looks like he needs our help, just stay at the back of the line while I call Will, okay?"

Bryan just chuckled, turning on his lights and siren, pulling off the shoulder and quickly catching up to the pursuit.

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While the others were working on a strategy, the Captain's cell phone started beeping.

"Who didn't recharge last night?" Ratchet was quick to scold his teammates before Lennox held up his cell phone. "It's my cell phone." He sighed. "Remember? You call people on it?" He sighed again when Ratchet just nodded. "Forget it." Lennox flipped open his phone, looking at the name on the screen. "I think we just got a lucky break."

He pressed talk, pressing the phone to his ear.

"_It's been a while Will. How are you?"_ Kasey started, trying to hide her amusement.

"I've been better." The captain replied. "I take it since you're calling, you know what's going on?"

"_Know about it?" _Kasey asked. _"Lennox we're at the back of the pack. We just need to know what you want to do."_

The captain sighed, quickly thinking up an idea. He thought for a few more seconds before his eyes lit up. "I've got it. We'll meet you on the highway." He said, closing his phone and looking back to the group. "Ratchet, do you have any medic uniforms stored in your compartments?"

"Just one… I don't see how that will help Bumblebee."

"Just give it to Mikeala." Lennox said quickly, turning to Sam. "I have an idea, but you are not going to enjoy it."

"What is it?" Sam answered quickly. "We've gotta save him!"

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"Oh I hope you're a really good driver." Mikeala whined, gripping her seatbelt as she sat in Ratchet's cabin, watching the world whip by as the Autobot used his sirens to get through traffic.

Behind her, Ironhide followed with Lennox and Sam in his cabin. Sam was a little uneasy about what was about to happen, but at this point, he was willing to do what it took to save Bumblebee.

At the back of the pack, Optimus stayed with the traffic, a trailer attached to his back and a hologram driving as he went over the plan in his spark one more time. Even he had to admit, it was risky, and Sam wouldn't enjoy a good part of it, that was for sure.

He saw the police lights ahead and slowed down a little as the traffic did. Ratchet and Ironhide disappearing in the row of police cars as the plan went into full swing.

_Good luck._

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Bumblebee had never been so glad to see Ratchet in his rear view mirror. Furthermore, he had never been nearly as happy as he was to see Ironhide trailing him.

"_Tell me you guys have an idea."_ He said into his friends over their comm. frequency.

"_We do."_ Lennox replied over Ironhide's radio. _"While he isn't happy about it, I put a little police light in his windshield, so the cops think we're an unmarked unit."_ Lennox continued. _"Ratchet is going to block their view when we pull up along side you, you're going to have to open your door. It's risky, but we're going to have to get Sam into your cabin for this to work."_

"_What… wait?!"_ Bumblebee yelled back over the Comm. _"At this speed? No way! What if he misses? I'd run him over!"_

"_Trust us Bee."_ Sam's voice. _"All we have to do is get me in your Cab. After that you'll just have to pull to the side and stop."_

The Camaro's engine revved a little, while Bumblebee watched the little black Impala, also with lights in it's dash, make it's way up behind Ironhide.

As if someone had started the countdown, Ironhide made his move, pulling up along side Bumblebee just as Ratchet blocked the view of the doors. Ironhide opened his passenger side door while Bumblebee opened his driver side. Sam take a deep breath, looking over at Lennox before jumping the gap.

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"I sure as hell hope they know what they're doing." Kasey sighed, gripping the armrest on her side of the car while Bryan weaved in and out of cop cars.

"They saved the earth." He responded. "I'm sure this is just a walk in the park for them."

She rolled her eyes. "He's still a kid, Bryan. Not everyone worked a special ops team like you did."

"And I'm a better person for it."

"Shut-"

"Nope." He said, grinning as he finally made it behind Ironhide, giving his siren a little chirp before returning it to it's normal wail. Ironhide flashed his break lights as if to say 'Affirmative'.

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"I've got you!" Bumblebee yelled over his radio as Sam connected with his driver's seat. Bumblebee closed his door enough to keep Sam in without crushing his foot that still hung out a little bit.

With a yell, Sam sat up in the seat, letting Bumblebee close the door all the way. "I haven't felt a rush like that since I fell off the building!"

Bumblebee's engine revved a little as he started to speak. "I'm sorry Sam."

"For what?"

"You've warned me about my speed before. And now you're risking your life because I didn't listen.

"Don't worry about Bee. You'd do the same for me." Sam said, gripped the steering wheel, easing his foot onto the break. "Let me have control okay?" Sam asked, as the car started to slow. Rows of police cars falling back a little and stopped when the car did. They all got out, weapons drawn.

For effect, Bryan and Kasey drew their own weapons; and, being at the front of the police pack now, started to slowly move towards the car. "Driver! Step out of the vehicle slowly, with your hands up!" Bryan yelled, trying his hardest not to laugh. The whole situation was just ridicules.

Sam did as he was told, slowly stepped out of Bumblebee, the full effect of having guns pointed at him. He listened to the next Command.

"Driver! Get on your knees and put your hands behind your head!" Kasey called, taking another step closer. Sam, however, didn't move, he just stayed in the middle of the closed off highway, his hands in the air.

It was part of the plan. After such a "chase", for the driver to suddenly give up was a little unheard of. Unfortunately, they were going to have to put on a show for the others watching.

Ratchet had fallen to the back of the pack once Sam had made the jump, now, he and Mikeala waited for the Captains signal to move forward. For the time being, they were watching Sam getting 'arrested'.

"Driver, final warning! Get on your knees now!" Kasey yelled again, now she was a few feet away from Sam, a look on her face of 'sorry'.

Sam started, turning on his heel like he was going to run, and just like they had planned, Bryan took him down - hard.

"Oh, that hurt. That really hurt." Sam groaned when Bryan tackled him. Now Sam was looking up at the officer, the nozzle of the mace can a few inches from his face. He closed his eyes. "Do not resist arrest!" Bryan yelled, trying hard not to chuckle now. This whole thing being planned he already knew what Sam was going to do.

Under the weight of the officer, Sam pretended to try and escape, and sure enough, he got sprayed.

"Oh that definitely hurts!" Sam whined as he stopped struggling, holding his hands to his eyes. Now, with his vision blurred, he couldn't see Lennox, but he heard him.

"You are in big trouble." The Captain scolded. "Stealing government property and racing through the streets like that. Just what were you thinking?" He finished just as Ratchet chirped his siren, making his way up the emergency lane, he stopped a few feet away from Sam, letting Mikeala hop of with a fake medic bag.

The other cops had holstered their weapons by now and were talking amongst themselves or watching Sam being arrested. Sam groaned when Mikeala pretended to check his eyes. "Stop being a baby." She said, putting the penlight away and getting a gurney from the back of the medic. As he was lifted onto it by Lennox and Bryan, he groaned again. "The things I do for my car." He sighed, hearing Optimus arrive at the scene too.

Sam was loaded into the back of Ratchet and the doors closed.

"Hold still," The medic began. "I'm going to spray you're face to neutralize the effects of the chemical they sprayed in your eyes." He said, his voice all around Sam as he felt the fine mist hit his face.

Outside the ambulance, Sam heard Bumblebee being loaded into the back of the trailer attached to Prime. He opened his eyes, finding that while they were still red, they didn't burn anymore. He stayed still on the bed though, not wanting anyone to see him sit up through the back window.

Sam heard the driver's side door open and Mikeala get in. Ratchet started his engine and chirped his siren, starting to pull away from the scene. Sam waited a few minutes before getting up, crawling to the front cab, and sitting in the passenger seat, the adrenalin rush starting to fade.

"We did it." Mikeala said, still feeling odd for sitting in the driver's seat while the Autobot was driving. "We saved Bumblebee."

"How are you feeling Sam?" Ratchet asked, turning off his flashing lights.

"Like I was thrown to the ground and maced. That's how I feel." Sam sighed, sitting back. "Can you open a channel to Bee?"

"_Sam?"_ Bumblebee slightly strained voice came through the radio. _"Sam I'm so sorry. I caused too much trouble."_

Sam rolled his eyes. "Don't worry about it. Are you okay?"

"_I should be asking that question."_

"You're lucky there was traffic like that. Otherwise they would have tried to blow out your tires."

"_Blow out my tires?"_

"You know, deflate them? Shoot them out? Stick sharp spikes in them? That sort of thing."

"_Humans can't be so barbaric to deflate one's tires… would they?"_ Ironhide's voice chimed in.

"It's not barbaric. Not everyone who runs from the cops is a super car robot, you know. Most of them have guns and want to hurt people." Sam said, not getting a response, he let the subject drop, sitting back in Ratchet's comfortable seat, he let his eyes drift close, unaware that the spectacle of the day, had drew a lot more then just human attention.


	2. Pursuit Of: Ironhide

"Stop pouting." Sam sighed, sitting on Ratchet's workbench located in a corner of the recently built Autobot base, watching as the medic worked on Bumblebee's vocal processor.

"I'm not pouting." Bumblebee coughed out before being scolded by Ratchet. "No talking, Bumblebee."

"You're pouting." Sam replied, ignoring the medic.

"I'm not pouting." Bumblebee began again, before Ratchet let out an aggravated sigh. "If you insist on talking while I'm working, I'll be forced to offline you until I am done. Now sit still and stop talking."

Bumblebee rolled his eyes, a trait he had picked up from Sam. Sam just sighed again, watching the medic intently. "You're pouting, I can tell. Why are you pouting?" Sam asked, receiving a stern look from Ratchet. "Oh, sorry… right, he can't talk."

The medic rolled his eyes, returning to his work.

"Alright, fine. You're not pouting. You're moping." Sam started again, this time, Ratchet set down his tools and pointed towards the door. "Out."

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"So he kicked you out?" Ironhide smirked, lounging around on an oversized couch.

"Yah." Same sighed, sitting on a more human couch next to it.

"Don't fell too bad. He's kicked me out thousands of times." Ironhide stood up, heading for the Ratchet's office. Sam chuckled to himself before heading for the garage.

Inside he found Mikeala standing with a hose in her hand, spraying down Optimus' truck form. "He still pouting?" She asked, seeing Sam's reflection in the chrome.

"Wouldn't know, Ratchet kicked me out." Sam admitted, watching his girlfriend spray down the truck. "I don't know why he feels so bad about everything."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Maybe he feels back because you've warned him many times about his speeding and he didn't listen? Thus, forcing you to risk your life to get him out of trouble."

Now it was Sam's turn to roll his eyes. "You make it sound so bad."

Mikeala was about to respond, but Optimus interrupted her. "The two from the chase have arrived." He said, just as the human sized garage door opened. Bryan holding the door open for his partner as they entered, approaching Sam.

"Hey kid. How's the eyes?" Bryan asked.

"They're alright." Sam replied, greeting the two cops. "I'd stay out of Ratchet's office for now. Already got kicked out of there."

Kasey giggled a little. "That's right were we have to go to. He asked as for a couple of medical books he wasn't able to find on the internet. Just dropping them off."

Sam nodded, following them back down the hall to Ratchet's office.

"Hey Ratchet." Bryan said, like it was nothing for him to be greeting the giant robot. He set the books down on the table. "Found what you were looking for… though I don't know how you plan to read them, they're a little small for your hands."

Ratchet chuckled to himself. "I'll figure it out." He said, reaching for another tool while Kasey climbed onto his work bench. "How's it going?"

"I'll be done soon, hopefully after this time, they'll be fixed." Ratchet said, grabbing another tool. Kasey looked from Bumblebee to Bryan. "Wow, he's really pouting."

Ratchet sighed, placing his tools down quickly while Ironhide chucked from his seat in the corner of the room. "Everyone out. Out, out, out. I'm locking the doors too!" He said loudly, glaring at Ironhide when he didn't move. "Move it, or next time I have to work on your weapons I won't be using any painkillers." That got the weapons specialist moving.

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"So what really brings you two around? I doubt you're just dropping off reading material for Ratchet. Come on, spill it." Mikeala said when the two cops arrived back in the garage.

"Well…" Kasey began, trailing off. She looked at her partner for the right words.

Bryan sighed, shaking his head at her. "You always have something to say. Where's your gift of gab now?" He asked her, turning back to Mikeala and Optimus. "We received a call from a friend of ours in D.C. It looks like they're sending some sort of team over to talk to you guys about a potential threat."

"What kind of threat?" Sam asked, appearing behind them.

"I don't know." Kasey answered. "I know that it's now of Sector Seven guys, since they're no longer around. But I do know that they mean business. My best guess? One of your Decpticon buddies is causing trouble somewhere."

"Either that or someone heard your message and crash landed somewhere." Mikeala added, looking back up at Optimus as he transformed.

Sam nodded. "I'd say that that would be the most likely bet, since the only two Decpticons I know of that are still a live are Barricade and Starscream. And both are licking their wounds," Sam said, ignoring the glance from Optimus, letting him search the net for what he meant. "so I doubt they're attacking anyone."

Mikeala looked over at Ironhide when he walked in. "So you're saying that there could be more of you?" The question was meant for Optimus.

"It is a strong possibility." He answered, searching the net for reports of anything that could even resemble another Autobot. Though he wasn't able to find anything yet.

"Anyway," Kasey started. "That team they sent should be arriving in two days. I know they're making a stop in Texas and another in Nevada before coming here." She said while Bryan answered his cell phone, hanging it up a moment later. "We've gotta go, they're looking for someone to back up and officer a few blocks away for a traffic stop." He said, waving his goodbye while tugging on Kasey's shoulder. "Come on, we've gotta go." She followed after him, leaving the others to wonder just what was going on.

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Sam was waiting for Ratchet to unlock the door, pacing the hallway. After a few minutes the door opened, the medic whipping his hands off on an oversized rag. "What are you doing, Sam?" He asked, looking down.

"How'd it go? Is it done?" Sam started, trying to see past the robot's legs. "Can he talk? Can I see him?"

"Slow down." Ratchet scolding him. "You're speaking to fast for your vocal processor to correctly form the words."

"Vocal chords, Ratchet. Chords!" Mikeala countered, sitting in the human chair in the hallway. "Not processor."

"Right, right, My apologies. All the same, yes, it was a success. So long as he gets a full night stasis, he should be just fine in the morning." And before Sam could even ask. "Yes, you can go see him." He said, taking a small sidestep to let Sam past.

Ratchet closed the door behind the boy, and Sam was left in a slightly dimmed room.

Sam looked up at the table his best friend was resting on. Arms and legs limp, a low rumbling of his engine that was the Autobot equivalent of a human snore. Sam climbed up onto the table, he looked at Bumblebee, grinning slightly. In the morning, he'd get to hear his voice, not the radio.

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For the first time in a long time, Sam had been the first one awake. He was still watching over his friend when Lennox entered the room, looking up at the sleeping form and spotting Sam.

"Never thought I'd say the day you would be awake without his help." The Captain chuckled, taking a seat near the table. "Think he'll wake up soon?"

Sam shrugged, sitting with his feet dangling over the edge of the table. "Don't know. Ratchet said he'd be sleeping for a while. I figured he would have been up by now."

Lennox relaxed on the couch, closing his eyes and sighing. "I was thinking of grabbing Ironhide and going into the city for a while. Pick up some supplies and the such. Wanna come?"

"No thanks." Sam replied quietly. "I'm going to wait for him to wake up first. Maybe we'll play catch up." He said, keeping his eyes on Bumblebee.

"Suit yourself." Lennox said, heading for the door. "See you two later on."

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Mikeala whipped her hands off on the rag, glaring at Ratchet. "That was not funny." She scolded him.

The medic, in his car form, chirped his siren in response. "I beg to differ, Mikeala."

She sighed, throwing the rag at him. "All the same, did you have to spray the oil everywhere? I mean really, this stuff will never wash out of my clothes."

"I warned you." Ratchet offered. "I didn't want you to work on my engine."

"I was curious!" Mikeala replied, sticking her tongue out at the Autobot. Across the large garage, Optimus laughed softly to himself, folding his arms behind his head, leaning back against the wall.

Ratchet changed back to his robot form, plucking the dirty rag from his crash bar, letting it fall to the ground. He chuckled, shaking his head as he headed back for his office. Entering, he looked from Sam to Bumblebee then to yellow robot's status monitor. "He's still in stasis?" The medic asked, standing over his patient. Sam simply nodded.

"Maybe we should wake him up." The medic replied, tapping a few icons on the screen. Sam listened as he heard a faint whirling noise before the yellow robot shifted slightly. Sam watched eagerly as the yellow Autobot shifted one more time, his optics flashing on before he slowly sat up.

Sam grinned a little. "So? Let's hear it."

Bumblebee did his best to hide his grin. "XM satellite radio." The channel changed. "Message from star command, captain." Another change. "I think we have a winner."

Sam nearly choked. "Ratchet, what's going on? Why can't he speak?"

Ratchet ran a quick diagnostic. "I don't understand, my sensors say everything is working perfectly." He said before his eyes narrowed a little, poking the yellow robot in the side of the head. "Knock it off." He warned, glaring at Bumblebee.

Sam blinked, looking between the two. He watched as Bee's shoulders shook a little and before he knew it, the Autobot was laughing. Sam grinned a little, laughing along with his friend. "Never thought I'd hear your voice." The human started. "Not bad Ratchet, not bad."

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Lennox had his hands on the wheel, but he knew he wasn't in control. "Somehow, I just don't think I'll get used to this whole, driving without driving thing." He sighed, sitting back a little. They had just exited the freeway and where heading for the main section of town, now rebuilt after the war.

Without much of a warning, Ironhide swerved to the side of the road, coming to an abrupt stop.

"What are you doing?" Lennox asked, looking at the radio out of habit. When the robot didn't respond, he started to worry. "Ironhide? Is something wrong?" Lennox asked. Instead of an answer, he was dumped out of the cab and onto the ground. "What the hell?!" He yelled at the truck. Again, no answer, instead Ironhide visibly shivered.

And that's when the trouble began.

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Ratchet had been scolding Bumblebee about how he had remained silent after waking up. But much to Sam's and the yellow Autobot's surprise, he feel silent. Bumblebee looked up at the medic, seeing that his optics looked like they were searching for something.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked.

"It's a distress signal." The medic replied. "From Ironhide. But… it's strange… the signal is faint and he isn't responding to my reply, though my sensors tell me he is completely online."

Bumblebee looked at Sam. "What do you say we check it out?" He asked.

Sam nodded. "If Ironhide is sending out a distress signal, then something is diffidently wrong."

Ratchet nodded in his agreement. "You two head out, I'll alert Optimus and meet up with you." He said, giving Bumblebee the location.

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"I need backup!" Bryan was yelling into his radio. He had his back pressed to a building, Kasey across the way doing the same.

The black Impala that had served them for years was currently burning itself to the ground after being hit with plasma cannon shot.

"I don't get it, why is he shooting at us?!" Kasey yelled, peaking out from her cover. She watched as a robot form of Ironhide was shooting at cars and buildings, aiming at anything in his way.

"How the hell should I know?!" Bryan replied, jumping out from behind his cover, firing two pistol rounds before retreating. "Man, this is like shooting bb's at a tank." He cursed himself, holstering his pistol, tugging on the strap around his body to bring the M4 from his back, loading a forty-four high-explosive around into the launcher.

"Don't shoot that thing at him!" Kasey scream at her partner. "He's still our friend! You can't injure him!"

"The hell I can't! It's either him or us! I choose us!" Bryan replied, poking out from behind cover, shooting off the grenade round. Ironhide swatted it out of the sky before it hit him, pointing and charging his plasma cannon at the exposed cop. "Shit!" Bryan yelled, ducking for cover as rocks and parts of a building exploded around him. He was loading another round into the launcher when he heard screeching tires.

He looked up, seeing Sam running away from a speeding yellow Camaro. Bumblebee hit full speed before launching himself into the air and transforming, tackling Ironhide to the ground.

The ground shook when the two bots hit. Bumblebee was working on trying to pin the weapons expert, while avoiding being at the end of any of his cannons. "Ironhide, stop this! What are you doing?" He was yelling, struggling with the Autobot.

If Bumblebee had skin, he would have paled when he suddenly found himself flipped over and pinned under Ironhide, the plasma cannon a mere two inches from his face, charging.

Sam, however, did pale. "This can't be happening." He was saying, over and over, watching the scene unfold.

"Ironhide, don't do it! It's me! Bumblebee! You don't want to kill me!"

"Must destroy…" The weapons expert mumbled, though his voice was distorted slightly. Bumblebee struggled for a few seconds more before stilling all together, hearing the hum of a fully charged plasma cannon.

He was staring up at his friend, hoping that he would come to his senses, and soon.

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Ratchet was weaving in and out of scattered traffic, sticking close to the black police SUV in front of him. He knew something was seriously wrong from Bumblebee's last transmission.

"_Why is he shooting up the place?" _Ratchet asked over his radio to Optimus. _"Sure, Ironhide has always been a little quick on the trigger. But he still always had some sense and self control."_

"_I agree."_ Optimus replied, the speeding eighteen wheeler keeping pace with the medic. _"Something is wrong."_

As the police SUV exited the highway, Ratchet saw Bumblebee pinned to the ground, staring up at Ironhide who had his cannon pointed at the robot's face. He was quick to transform. Using all his momentum, he placed his shoulder forward, knocking Ironhide off Bumblebee, quickly pinning the black Autobot to the ground, using his medic laser to offline him.

Bumblebee hadn't moved, he was staring up at the blue sky. His friend, his teammate, his own family member had just tried to put a plasma shot through his head.

"Kasey!" Bryan yelled over the growing yells of the crowd. "Crowd control!" He said, reaching for his radio. "David 523, requesting large vehicle transport and Division Four assistance. Code three!"


	3. Pursuit Of: DFour

Ratchet found himself frustrated. Currently, he was running every diagnostic, every anti-virus program he could think of. His red emergency lights, normally only active in his car mode, flashed in his frustration. His eyes scanning every last bit of information to cross any of the monitors in front of him.

Ironhide's memory was being downloaded and watched by Bumblebee. The youngest Autobot had insisted that he be the one to watch the memories, trying to figure out what was wrong with his friend.

Bumblebee listened to the Captain's words right before Ironhide had slammed his breaks and pulled to the side of the road. The robot squinted, rewinding the file a little, turning up the speakers. Just as Ironhide pulled over, he heard an underlining frequency tone.

"H-h-hey Ratchet! Come here, look at this!" Bumblebee said, waving the medic over. He replayed the tone over. The tone remained through the attack and until the screen went blank where Ratchet had forced him offline. "What was that?" Bumblebee asked, looking up at Ratchet. "I think… I think that was a hacker attack."

"Decepticons?" Bee ventured, still looking up at the medic. Ratchet shook his head. "I cannot be sure but, I doubt it. You and I both know they wouldn't hack us, they would simply try and destroy us. This seems like it is a little more-"

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"-human?" Optimus asked, looking over at his medical officer. "But how?"

"It makes no sense. Why would they go after you guys? You saved the world." Sam argued, looking around the room.

"I don't understand it myself. But, that signal is similar to the one that originally hacked the USAF mainframe before the first war. It was modified though, almost like it was running on a separate server." Lennox stated.

"Is it possible that Ironhide was on the business end of an experiment to see if we can be controlled?" Optimus asked, looking to Ratchet for answers.

"It is possible… the signal seems to be detected by his satellite readers for the internet. But still… hacking an Autobot? Especially Ironhide of all of us." Bumblebee started.

"Well, the scary part is, that is what makes it all start to make sense… if someone was going to attack you guys, who better to manipulate then one of your strongest?" Mikeala answered, turning when she heard the door open, watching as Bryan, Kasey, and two others entered the room.

"What - the - hell happened out there?" Kasey yelled, Bryan grabbing her shoulder. "Knock it off." He hissed, looking back at the group. "Someone want to explain?"

Sam was the first to answered. "Someone attacked Ironhide."

"No, Ironhide attacked us!" Kasey stated. "Not the other way around."

"Actually," Ratchet interrupted. "It was a mixture of both. Someone attacked you through him. It was a mind hack of some kind. I've never really seen anything like it before."

"Someone hacked a super computer oversized robot weapons system." Kasey replied, blinking.

"Seems like that sums it all up nicely." Bryan quipped.

"Who's that?" Bumblebee asked, point behind the two cops at the other two onlookers.

"Who then?" Bryan said, jamming a thumb over his shoulder. "They're with Division Four."

"Division Four?" Sam repeated, looking a little lost. "Not another Sector Seven."

"Hardly," The girl, one of the Division Four officers responded. "We're a lot more professional then those idiots." She sighed, "My name is Mei, my partner here," She said, pointing to the girl standing next to her. "Is Maya. We're both Division Four officers."

Lennox rolled his eyes. "Well, Hell, I figured that out. Just what is Division Four?" He growled, still upset about someone attacking Ironhide.

"Division Four is a tactical operations unit. One of those best of the best with no rules to follow kind of things. We're here under direct order of the Secret Service to help you guys with your current situation."

"Secret Service?" Bumblebee echoed, looking at his team mates.

"They protect the president of the United States… they're also one of Earths most respected police-like forces." Ratchet said, reading directly from the internet. Bumblebee nodded his understanding, looking back towards the two D-Four girls.

"So what exactly is our current situation?" Optimus asked, kneeling down to get a better look at the two.

"Well obviously you're under attack. We have reason to believe that the original Decepticon signal that hacked the USAF database was leaked onto the net and now a world class hacker is attempting to pick you guys off. We know he's working with someone, we just don't know who."

"We're under attack by a human? A LONE human?!" Optimus roared, his engine revving within his chest.

"Yes, but we know he's working with someone who knows of you guys. He's only in it for the money. Now, we've been tracking your friend Barricade, we know he isn't involved, however, your other friend Starscream, I have been unable to locate." Mei stated, her hands behind her back.

Optimus looked from Ratchet to Bumblebee. "Do you really think he would sink that low?"

Bumblebee scoffed. "As if he hasn't before. He's always played dirty to win."

"So… what do we do from here?" Lennox asked, looking around for answer.

"For now?" Bryan started. "You guys will have to stay off the net and not accept any type of satellite related communication. Until the rest of Division Four arrives and Ironhide is back to his old self, we lick our wounds and hope for the best."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later found Ratchet sitting in the medical bay, working on some sort of patch or vaccine for the hacker's attack. Now that he knew what was going after him, he would damn well be prepared to keep it from happening again.

A low groan caused him to turn around and look at Ironhide on the table. "Finally awake, hmm?" He asked, setting his tools down and walking over, leaning over the black robot.

"What… happened?" Ironhide asked before his optics went wide. "Oh no… Lennox! Sam!" And finally, his body shuddered. "Bumblebee." He said softly.

Ratchet was taken back. For the first time in what had to have been years upon years, Ironhide didn't sound gruff. He didn't sound like himself at all.

"I… I killed him didn't I? With my own damn hands." He asked, holding his hands up in front of his face. "I'll never forgive myself."

"There is nothing to forgive, my friend. Bumblebee is safe."

"What?"

"I took you offline before you could do any major harm. He's got a few paint scratches, and he'll be sore for a day or two. But he's alive."

"I hurt him."

Ratchet was about to say something when said Autobot walked into the room. "Ironhide." Bumblebee's voice was a low whisper before the bot smiled. "I'm glad you're okay."

Ironhide tried to roll onto his side to see the yellow bot, but was restrained by Ratchet. "Stay still for now, I'm not done with your repairs."

"Bumblebee, I'm-"

"Don't even think of saying it." The Bumblebee warned. "They day I hear the word 'sorry' from your vocal processor, it better be because you're apologizing to your mate and nothing more."

The weapons specialist grinned. "Fine."

Bumblebee nodded. "Good. So, how are you feeling?"

"Like I was hit by an ambulance." Ironhide groaned, the gears in him straining a little as he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the table.

"That might be because you were." Bumblebee laughed a little, sitting next to him. "Do you remember what happened?"

Ironhide was about to answer when the base alarm sounded. "Alert: Decepticon approaching area of operations. Five miles out and closing."

Without a second thought, they were rushing to meet the oncoming vehicle at their front door.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Humans and Autobots alike had their weapons drawn at the oncoming police car.

Barricade didn't slow down a pit as a well placed warning shot connected with the ground just in front of his front bumper.

"Hold your fire!" Optimus yelled, watching the speeding cop car get closer and closer.

Suddenly, Barricade transformed, skidding to a halt a hundred yards away from the rest of the group. He didn't move for a few seconds. He didn't attempt to fire upon the group, nor charge them.

"Anyone else find this odd?" Lennox stated, looking to his left and right.

"Very." Mei hissed, staring down the opposing robot.

"State your business." Optimus called out, lowering his weapon.

Barricade growled at himself, keeping his arms and weapons at his side. "I'm not here to harm you Autobot scum."

Optimus heard Ironhide charge his cannons. "Ironhide!" He snapped, watching the specialist power down. He turned back to Barricade. "Then simply turn and leave, you have no business here."

"It's a little more complicated than that." The robot growled. "It would appear we are being hunted down."

Ironhide growled louder. "It is us who is being hunted by you and your poor excuse for a leader, Starscream."

"Starscream," Barricade gritted his teeth. "Committed suicide one week ago. Shot himself with one of his own cannons."

"What?" Bumblebee hissed.

"Again, it would appear we are being hunted down." Barricade repeated. "I'm the last Decepticon on earth, possibly anywhere else. I do not wish to be taken out by a human. Where's the honor in that?"

Ironhide didn't bother lowering his cannons like the rest of the group started to. "The last thing you should talk about it honor."

"Where do you think I was during the battle with Megatron? Far, far away. That's where. I wanted nothing to do with that fight. I may not like you - any of you for that matter. But I prize my survival over all else."

Optimus thought for a moment, before making his next move. "Ironhide, Bumblebee, restrain him." He ordered, the two robots springing ahead and bring the cop car robot down to the ground - hard.

Ratchet was glaring at Optimus. "I was trying to get him to sit still, not tackle Decepticons." The medic sighed, turning towards the base.


	4. Pursuit Of: Satellite Connections

(A/N: This is just a filler. It's supposed to help explain the who Starscream suicide thing, since the first few reviews I saw seemed to take it the wrong way. Sorry guys, guess I should have explained it better the first time. Heh, live-n-learn.)

"I really don't think you understand how serious this is."

Maya rolled her eyes, her left hand on her hip, the other resting on the holster of her firearm. "So says the evil robot cop car."

Barricade glared at her. "Learn your place meat bag." He growled, quickly being slapped in the side of his head by Bumblebee. "What your mouth. If you're going to work with us you're going to learn respect."

Barricade growled at Bumblebee now. "How can you live with these inferior beings. They do not deserve respect." Again, he received a blow to the head. "Next time you're going to become Ratchet's personal experiment into the mind of a Decepticon. Now apologize."

"Absolutely not!" Barricade growled, quickly collecting himself when he found himself on the business end of a plasma cannon.

"There was a time when you weren't like this Barricade. Has time been that cruel to you?" The yellow bot asked, powering down his cannon.

Barricade muttered some words in his native tongue, turning back to Maya. "When you prove yourself in battle to me, then, and only then, will I apologize," the words dripped of venom. "to you, human."

"Fair enough." Maya sighed, looking over at Mei. "What do you think Boss?"

Mei rubbed the bridge of her nose, folding her arms over her chest. "I think he's no threat for the time being… it is Optimus' call to release him of his binds. And I don't think that that will occur until he confirms Starscream's demise."

"Which has already been done." Optimus' voice came from the doorway, causing both girls to turn around. "I have received confirmation from Captain Lennox. The debris of a shot down F-22 Raptor was around floating in the ocean fifty miles off the shore of Connecticut four days ago. Your," He said, looking at the two girls. "Department of Defense confirms that the number located on the tail of the plane, along with the symbol imprinted in the cockpit is that of Starscream's." He sighed a little. "Given the photos that were delivered to me, it's true, he offlined himself."

Mei looked to Maya who just grinned at her superior. "I think that does it Boss. Looks like we have a pretty big job to do."

Mei rolled her eyes, looking at her watch. "The rest of the team will arrive in a day. Maya," She started, wincing when the other girl saluted. "Knock it off." She sighed. "Help me prepare the information we'll need to brief them on current events."

Bumblebee looked over at Optimus. "Why is it that I get the feeling that this is only the beginning, sir?" He asked, arms at his side. Optimus grunted a little. "Because it would seem a new war as started." He looked to Barricade. "I'm releasing you of your bonds for now. But before I do, understand, if you act up, we will take you offline - permanently." He growled, looking up and nodding at Bumblebee before leaving the room.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ah, shit-shit-shit-shit-shit." Devon groaned as he let his head rest on the wall of the chopper.

"What's your problem Sergeant?"

Devon looked over at his teammate, and team demolitions expert, Anna, she was grinning at him. "Nothing is wrong, Anna. Just wondering what I signed myself up for."

"What?" She asked, laughing softly. "You don't want to travel the world? See exciting things? Meet exciting people?"

"Shit, Anna, you talk to the same recruiter I did?" Devon's attention turned from Anna to Tyler. He was a kid strait out of college and already knew more about technology then anyone else the Sergeant knew.

"Parker?" Anna asked, looking over at Tyler, laughing.

"Parker." Tyler confirmed.

"Diffidently sounds like Parker." The final voice belonged Maria, the team's weapons expert. Even at the age of twenty-one, she was a valuable asset. Able to strip down a weapon to it's smallest component and put it all back together - in two minutes flat.

"She speaks." Devon laughed. "Sorry, I know you hate flying."

"Anyway…" Maria pressed, her thick Russian accent adding to her current emotion. "Anna, so help us all if you tell the Autobots that 'we come in peace'."

"Ruin all my fun." Anna sighed, rolling her eyes when Tyler laughed at her. "Piss off."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Next Day

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Chopper inbound." Bumblebee reported to Optimus as they all sat in the main garage facility of the Autobot base. They all headed outside to watch the army green personnel chopper land on the helipad. Four people getting out before the chopper took off again, heading to places unknown.

Mei stood at the head of the group, greeting her friends and teammates as the approached, turning around.

"I believe introductions are in order." She started, pointing at Devon. "My team medic, Devon Williams." She said, looking down the line. "My demolitions expert and my best recon specialist, Anna Pacific." Then to Tyler. "My communications expert and tech specialist, Tyler Renker."

She looked down the line one more time, seeing that Maria wasn't standing where she was before. She looked around, seeing the girl standing a few feet from Ironhide, looking up at him with thoughtful eyes. "Maria get away from there." She hissed.

"Hmmm… the cannons run off a high rate heat cylinder, charging through a high heat composite of carbon and hydrogen, causing a superheated, moldable object to form in the barrel… you know you could increase the efficiency of your blast by adding a mixture of salt, molasses, and some sort of accelerant. Would cause your shot to stick to it's target and burn at a high temperature." She said, ignoring Mei.

"Maria!" Mei sighed, shaking her head. "That would be Maria Sanchez. Don't let the last name fool you, that girl is one-hundred percent Russian. She's also my ballistic and weapons specialist… if you didn't already figure that out."

Ironhide looked over at Ratchet with a grin on his face. The medic was quick to respond. "No! The last thing you need is more power." Ironhide rolled his eyes at Ratchet, looking back down to Maria. "I think we'll get along just fine."

Optimus cleared his nonexistent throat. "We have many things to discuss. Why don't we head inside."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"This," Tyler said, his laptop projecting a video onto a nearby white wall. "Is a video shot by a D.O.D satellite. It shows an F-22 Raptor firing a missile upon itself. The missile traveled about a quarter of a mile before turning around and striking the craft in the nose." He stopped the video on the explosion. "Of course with no black box to retrieve, we don't know exactly what happened. However, leaked information and clues suggest that the craft, or "Starscream" was as you would say "mind-hacked" into firing upon himself. And since he wasn't under his own control…" He let the sentence hang.

Maria took over. "My own research found that the missile that he had launched had been triggered by a USAF D.O.D. satellite. We detected a signal being admitted from that satellite." She said, just as Tyler called up a sound file, playing back a the signal.

Upon hearing it, Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Ironhide all looked at each other.

"We believe the signal is the source of the hack. Problem is, whoever is doing it is hacking military satellites to send it out. Worse being, we can't trace it back to it's owner. It seems to be integrated into the military system and activated at will."

"So it's from the military?" Sam ventured a guess. Maria shook her head. "Not in the least. The last thing that anyone wants to do is violate the treaty between the USA and you guys. It's from the outside. However, we believe that it is that signal, that tone, that is hacking the minds of your friends." She finished.

"It's not belief. It's fact." Bumblebee began. "That is the same tone we heard when we reviewed Ironhide's mind-hack. But I was unable to determine the source, only that it was received by his satellite communication link to the internet."

"Makes sense." Tyler began. "Problem is, we still don't know what or who we're up against."

Maya nodded her agreement. "So where do we go from here?" She asked, looking around the room for an answer.

"Well… as must as you don't want to hear it? Our best bet is to wait for the next hacking attack and attempt to trace it back." She grimaced a little. "Heh, any volunteers?"


	5. Pursuit Of: Trust

Bumblebee was about to answer the question when a police radio transmission.

"_Five-Five David, return to base. Teresa's looking for you."_ Bryan chucked to himself. "Probably wants to know what happened to our car and why we're driving the Crown Vic around." He said, sighing. "Lets go Kase."

They waved their goodbyes, leaving the group to themselves. "So anyway, what is our plan of attack?" Mei started again, looking around the room. "Anyone?"

Maya rolled her eyes. "I still stand by my volunteer idea." Mei scoffed in response. "Absolutely not. We're not putting anyone at risk."

"I don't see you coming up with any bright ideas Mei." Maya retorted.

"Bite - your - tongue, Lieutenant." Mei returned, causing the other girl to stiffen up. "Sorry, Major."

"Now where were we?" Mei started again, looking to the rest of the group.

"Well," Sam began. "I kind of think Maya has a point. I mean… we can't trace it if it isn't active. So, we'd have to risk someone…" He hated the words even before they left his mouth. "Sam you can't be serious!" Mikeala yelled at him, hands on her hips.

"You are forgetting someone, Sam." Lennox spoke up, a grin tugging on his lips.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I don't want to be here Maggie."

"Me either Glen, but we don't have much of a choice. Besides, we owe them our planet." The girl protested, trying her hardest to concentrate on the road and not the whining man next to her. "I'll give you five thousand dollars to turn this car around and head back home."

"Five thousand?" Maggie asked, raising an eyebrow, head propped up on her arm that rested at the window seam.

"Yes." He answered, looking at her hopefully.

"Sorry, not enough." She said, grinning evilly, speeding up a little as she turned onto the final stretch of road towards the Autobot base.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Quit wigglin'." Sam scolded as he tried to apply a coat of wax to Bumblebee's car form. The Autobot wiggling around underneath the rag. He had forgotten about how sensitive the bot was to being wash and waxed. He was about to scold the bot again for moving around when he heard the hanger door swing open.

Maggie looked around, spotting Sam and Bumblebee. "Where is everyone?" She asked, laptop tucked under her arm. Sam shrugged. "Ratchet is in his office, Optimus is making a supply run with Mikeala. Lennox needed to run home and took Ironhide. Everyone else is scattered around the base."

"Everyone else?" Glen echoed.

Sam nodded. "Yah, some special operations team showed up to help too."

Maggie nodded, accepting the explanation. She held her laptop up. "Do you have a spot for me to work?"

Sam had started to answer, but Tyler interrupted him. "Hey, everyone! That signal is back!"

"What?" Sam yelled, running over to the computer screen. "Who's being attacked?

Tyler didn't answer, he was scrambling to get everyone together and grab his gear, leaving Sam to look at the moving dot on the screen. "Oh no… this is bad, very bad! Ratchet, get out here!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Sam, I'm scared. I don't know what's going on."

It was almost hard for Sam to hear Mikeala over the sound of Bumblebee's engine, combined with Barricade's siren and the sirens' of those that followed.

"Mikeala stay calm alright? We're almost there." He said, bracing himself as Bumblebee drifted around a corner, quickly regaining his driving line.

"Sam, I don't get it, how did they hack Optimus? If anyone should be unhackable, it's him!" She yelled, yelping a little at the end. Sam guess that Optimus had taken a sharp turn.

"I've got a lock on the signal!" Tyler reported over Bumblebee's radio. "If we can keep this guy hooked into Optimus long enough, I should be able to trace it back!"

"Hurry up Tyler! We can't wait forever you know!" Mei's voice was on the radio now.

Bumblebee being at the head of the pack rounded the corner first. "Scatter!" He yelled, quickly pulling to the side, the speeding eighteen wheeler flying past him. "Mother fu-" Lennox cursed as Ironhide got out of the way quickly.

Bumblebee had just completed his one-eighty turn, racing back down the road past everyone else, skidding to a stop when Optimus' break lights came on.

Mikeala found herself dumped onto the ground as the leader Autobot started to transform. She looked up just in time to see Optimus start charging his cannon, only to have himself knocked back a few feet but a supercharged shot from Ironhide.

Optimus returned fire, quickly rolling out of the way of the next shot before aiming for Bumblebee.

"He can't hit what he can't see!" Mei called out to her team. "Rubber rounds, optics only!" She yelled, ejecting the clip from her sidearm to replace it with rubber bullets, taking aim. "Fire at will!" She called, firing off her shots.

With the team spread out, the started to fire rubber rounds at Optimus' optics in an attempt to blind the bot. Maria was running for a cop car, looking for a sniper rifle.

Barricade dodged a cannon shot from Optimus, his attempt to break the line of fire to start a hand-to-hand attack failed. He fell back, charging up his weapon.

Finding a rifle, Maria returned to the front line, looking at her leader. "Two EMP shots to the eyes. Should do it, and the bullets are small enough to not impact anything other than the eyes."

"Too risky! You miss and he dies!" Mei countered, shaking her head.

"Trust me, Major! It's all we got!" Maria responded, loading a small caliber EMP bullet. She crouched on one knee, holding her breath as she aimed. _I hope my aim has never been more true._ She thought to herself, holding her breath as she fired.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bryan and Kasey had just arrived on scene to find Optimus trading shots with his own team. The fighting continued as he reached into the back of his car, pulling out his M4, loading hallow tipped bullets into it.

"What are you going to do? Annoy him to death?" Kasey cursed at him while he used the hood of the Crown Vic as a stabilizer, ignoring his partner as he used a three round burst to distract Optimus just as Maria fired the EMP round.

"Holy shit, she did it!" Maya yelled, reloading her weapon. The rubber bullets were bouncing off the face plate armor of the oversized robot. Maria loaded another EMP round into the rifle, taking aim again and letting the bullet fly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ratchet sighed. He never thought in billions of years he would have his own commander on his operating table. On the table next to him was his medical equipment and two boxes filled with brand new optics. But all the same, the medic sighed.

"How bad were the injuries?"

The medic looked up. "You're awake? I-"

"Ratchet, how bad were the injuries?"

"Minor. Sam and Mikeala are working on fixing paint scrapes and a few minor dents. Lucky, no permanent damage was done."

"I don't know what happened. I didn't access anything and the next thing I can remember, I'm firing at Bumblebee."

Now the medic was surprised. "You mean, you didn't access the internet via your satellite communications?"

The blinded bot shook his head. "No. It was like they forced their way into my head."

"This is new." Ratchet admitted, reaching for his tools. "Hold still, Optimus. I'm going to start replacing your optics."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tyler was staring at his computer screen. "This isn't possible. Maria's EMP rounds must have screwed with my system."

"Why's that?" Mei asked, leaning over the tech's shoulder, seeing the radiating circles showing where the signal had come from.

"Because," Tyler started. "It's coming from the middle of the ocean."

"What?" Mei asked, looking from the screen to the tech. "That makes no sense. Check it again and report back."

"Yes, Ma'am."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"It's been a while since you've had a touch up job. What does Lennox do to you?" Mikeala giggled to herself, dipping the brush back into the armor black touch-up paint kit, applying the paint to wherever there was a scratch on Ironhide's paintjob.

"Nothing I can't handle." He snorted as she capped the lid on the paint. "We'll everything looks okay… I'd see Ratchet about getting that headlight fixed." She said, taking a step back and allowing him to transform back into his robot self. She didn't expect a thank-you from the bot, nor did he offer one. He just nodded at her, walking off to some unknown part of the base.

She looked over at Sam who was currently glaring at his yellow car. She giggled when he pulled his sleeve away from his face. A yellow stripe going up from his chin, between his eyes, and to his forehead. "Need help?" She laughed at him.

"Sorry," Bumblebee was trying to hold back his own snickers. "That was a sensitive area." Sam just sighed, closing the lid and setting it on the table, picking up the black paint next. "I swear, I fall for that every time." He said. "Hold still this time. You move and I'll have Ratchet clean out your exhaust system."

The car didn't even 'breathe'.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"There we go. Can you see okay?" Ratchet asked, setting down his laser. Optimus nodded before swinging his legs over the edge of the table, standing up.

"If you keep feeling bad for yourself then we're in for a lot more problems." Ratchet started, realizing why his commanding officer was asking what Sam had called 'mopey'.

Optimus looked over at him, nodding a little before walking off. "I'll be in the main hanger."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Lucy!" Bryan called, faking a hispanic accent as he entered the hanger. "You have some explaining to do!"

Ironhide and Bumblebee glanced at each other, shrugging.

"It was another hack attack." Tyler began, looking over his shoulder at the cop. "Though I think Maria's EMP rounds messed with my system, cause every time I try and trace it, the system says it originates from the same spot."

"How is that odd?" Kasey asked, walking over to the computer and looking over the shoulder of the tech. "Because," he explained "it's coming from the middle of the ocean."

Kasey nearly paled a little seeing where the dot was. "Bryan! Get over here!"

"What, what, what?" Bryan asked, jogging from his side of the hanger to the other. "What is- oh my." He said, looking at the screen. "It's official, we are totally screwed."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Megatron?" Sam laughed a little uneasily. "Not possible. He was destroyed."

Mei shook her head, looking at the open folder in front of her. "I would agree, but the coordinates from out tracking system compared to the military records of where he was dumped are a total match. There's no doubt. It either coming from him, or someone near him."

"This isn't happening." Sam sighed, taking a step back and tripping on Bumblebee's foot. The robot caught him.

"I don't get it. Why now? After all this time?" Mikeala stepped towards the screen. "Did we miss something back in Mission City?"

"I don't think so." Ironhide growled. "It wouldn't surprise me one bit to see him arise from the ashes. Primus knows he's done it hundreds of times before."

Mei shook her head. "It isn't possible. They removed his spark, entirely. It's sealed up in Fort Knox. And we all know just how tight security is there."

"Just how tight?" Ironhide asked, looking down at her.

"Tighter than my ex-girlfriend's-"

"Sergeant!" Mei barked, quickly shutting the man up. She sighed, rubbing her temples. "What he means to say, is that there is no possible way for them to get the spark out, short of destroying the place. And if they had, I'm sure we'd know about it by now."

"So… what then?" Bryan asked, tapping the computer monitor with his finger, almost like the signal would correct itself and jump to another mark.

"A beacon?" Maya suggested, her fingers on her chin. "I mean… it would explain it right? We're only tracing the first signal. There has got to be something we're missing."

"Alright, I'll bite." Mei picked up the idea. "But why aren't we detecting a second signal. It's not like our suspect is living there, never mind a hard-line from that area, it's impossible to get to that depth and survive." She was about to add more when she looked at her watch. "Not much we can do about it at this hour." She looked up to Optimus. "Do you mind if we leave our equipment here in your hanger? Or would you rather we take ti with us to the hotel?"

"Hotel?" He asked. "You're more than welcome to stay here. We have accommodations for each of you."

"Human sized ones?" Maria joked, looking around here. "With beds and stuff?"

Optimus nodded. Everyone looked at Mei. "Looks like we're staying a night at the giant robot's house." She sighed, grinning a little. "Alright, lets get a good night's rest. See you all bright an early."

As they started to head towards where Optimus said the rooms were, Anna turned around.

"One last thing guys." She said, grinning. "And I'm sorry Maria, but it had to be done."

She turned around, holding two fingers up in the air, grinning.

"Welcome to Earth guys. We come in peace."

The gesture eared groans and blank stares all around.

Maria sighed. "Damn it, Anna… well, you tried."


	6. Pursuit Of: Coffee

A/N: I kinda laughed at myself today. I checked my stats to see that a story I've had up for months, almost a year, that also has twenty chapters posted - doesn't not have nearly as many hits as this story does! Thanks guys!

Also, you'll notice that I changed car make/models for two well known characters. I had to do it for a more realistic purpose. I doubt you'll see such expensive cars in a place like this.

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"Coffee... nope. Here? Try again… last reachable hiding spot… damn it." Maria cursed, her hands on her hips as he looked around the oversized kitchen. "They can transform into robots and cars and stuff, but ask them about coffee." She sighed, turning on her heal to head back to her room, she was going to try and sleep a little more until someone with car keys awoke.

However when she passed the main hanger, she caught sight of Ironhide polishing his cannons. And the wheels in her head started turning.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"What? Hell, no." Maria laughed, though her hands remained on the wheel.

"I'm telling you," Ironhide replied over his radio. "There is no weapon on the face of your planet that could stop me."

"Oh really?" She challenged. "What about one of my EMP rounds? Like I used on Optimus yesterday."

"You would have to get the round into my spark casing. And good luck, even one of your fifty caliber rounds can't penetrate that. The eye thing was just luck, they're exposed."

"Alright mister bad-ass. What about your cannons? Anything they can't make disappear."

She could feel the chassis of the truck under her feet shrug. "Depends on the charge I supply." He answered.

"Ever run out of power?" She asked, slowly gaining more and more interest.

If Ironhide had been in his robot form, he would have grinned. "Nope, regular stasis cycles keep me running at all hours of the day." He said, pulling off to the side of the road. "I believe this is what you were looking for. Captain Lennox says this place has the best coffee on the west coast." He said, Maria eyed the name, _Rachel's_. She was grinning to herself. "Hmm, sounds French. I'll be out in five." She called over her shoulder. Ironhide just revved his engine.

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Inside she ordered a coffee, light, with a cocoa shot. It sounded interesting enough. She paid for it and headed outside, taking a sip. She grimaced a little. _That will be an acquired taste._ She told herself, just as a red corvette went flying past them, beeping his or her horn at Ironhide who revved his engine in response.

Maria weight her options, dropping the bad tasting coffee on the ground and climbing into Ironhide's passenger side. Reaching for her cell phone as he pulled out and started to chase the car.

"This is undercover officer Maria Sanchez. I'm in pursuit of a '07 corvette, cherry red. Speeds in excess," She leaned over and looked at Ironhide's speedometer. "of ninety miles and hour."

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"Where are you going?" Sam asked, seeing Bryan and Kasey scrambling for their police car.

"Maria is in hot pursuit. We're going to assist." Bryan yelled over his shoulder, the Crown Vic's wheels spinning in the dirt when he swung the car around, taking off down the road. Maya and Sam looked at each other for a moment, before calling out. "Barricade!"

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Ironhide revved his engine a little more, hearing the former Decepticon's siren coming up fast behind him. The siren of a Crown Victoria not to far behind. The red corvette had seemed to be toying with them so far. Speeding up, slowing down, drifting around corners, drafting other cars.

To Maria's surprise, Ironhide didn't seem to be getting frustrated in the least. She could almost swear he was enjoying it.

The red sports car had sped up again, coming onto the freeway, riding the emergency lane to avoid traffic.

If Ironhide had his face right now, he would have been grinning.

Maria couldn't understand what she was seeing. Looking to her right, she saw a yellow Dodge Viper keeping pace with Ironhide in the emergency lane opposite the red car. That wasn't what she couldn't believe. What had caught her attention: the car was doing it in reverse.

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"What the hell?!" Bryan yelled. He had been pushed into the other emergency lane by traffic. One second the lane was clear, the next he had a bright yellow Viper, speeding in front of him… in reverse… without a driver.

He got on the radio, calling Sam who was now following him in Barricade. "Friend of yours?"

"I don't know." The boy replied. "Ask Ironhide."

"I would except he's shut off his radio system." Bryan responded aggravated as he watched the Viper in front of him. As soon as it hit an open space in traffic, it did a one-eighty, speeding off to catch up with his friend.

"If this keeps up," Kasey said over the radio. "We'll have to call for a spike strip."

And just like that, both speeding cars pulled over and came to a complete stop.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mei was sitting in the main hanger, cleaning brush in hand as she gently pushed it down the barrel of the M-16 in her hands. Treating it much like a parent would a child.

"You take good care of your weapons." Ratchet observed, watching the human female in front of him. Mei simply nodded, her mind elsewhere.

"My sensors are detecting a change in your hormones, indicating you are saddened. May I ask what is wrong?"

Mei looked from her weapon to Ratchet, forcing a small smile to the robot. "Just had a dream last night, that's all."

"What was the dream about?" The medic asked, tilting his head a little to the side.

"My family… at least what used to be my family."

"I see, the subject must cause great sadness for you. I won't press further."

Mei shrugged. "It's no big deal. I mean, it's been ten years since the whole thing happened. I guess I should be over it by now." She laughed softly to herself. "I remember when I first got involved in a black ops team. My Sergeant had asked me what I would do to protect my family, how far was I willing to go in order to keep them safe." She grinned a little, starting to clean her weapon again. "This was only six months after the accident. But, I looked that man square in the eye and told him 'I have no family to protect'." She looked up to Ratchet. "You'd think he would have just nodded and left it be. But, that man was always full of surprises. He told me that the most dangerous soldier, the most dangerous black operations agent, is one that has nothing to lose."

The robot nodded. "He sounds like a wise man."

Mei nodded, looking over at him. "He was." She replied, sighing a little. "He was killed three years ago in combat."

"I am sorry for your loss." He said, sadness tinting his optics.

"Not my loss." She said simply, going back to work on her weapon. "He was a cruel bastard first thing in the morning." She laughed a little.

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"What, in the same of all things robot and moving, was that?!" Bryan yelled, staring at the two cars in front of him. They had chased the cars for a little over half an hour. Problem was the cars had no drivers, and they were clearly one of the best drivers on the road.

Ironhide was still grinning to himself in his car form. He could hear the two cars laughing over the Autobot radio frequency. A laugh cut short when Bryan said. "Screw it, get a toe truck and bring'em to the hanger. Oh, and Kasey?" He said, looking over his shoulder. "No flat bed, lets get them by the back tires."

The cars suddenly didn't find it funny.

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"Oh, my rear end." The yellow viper groaned as the toe truck released it's grip on the tires, pulling away the same time as the second one.

"Your rear end? What about my rear end?" The corvette revved it's engine.

"I don't care about your rear end. I had to stare at it for most of our race."

"Well if you were able to keep up."

"Well if you didn't cheat!"

"Enough!" Ironhide yelled, having just transformed. "You two, front and center. And no bickering!"

Both cars revved the engines in annoyance until Ironhide charged his cannons.

"He wouldn't." Bryan could almost hear the grin in the corvette's voice.

"He would." The viper challenged, quickly transforming, the 'vette following suit.

Ironhide grinned, powering his cannons down.

"I think it's time for a decent introduction." Kasey said, looking up at the black bot.

"Fine, fine. Guys, these are the twins. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker."


	7. Pursuit Of: Allies

Kasey found herself shaking her head. "Do you know how much trouble you two caused? Yet alone the dangers of what you did?" She scolded the two new bots.

"We caused trouble?" Sunstreaker asked, looking over at his brother who simply shook his head. "I didn't cause any trouble. You did."

"Don't start that again." Bryan warned, folding his arms over his chest. He sighed a little rolling his eyes. "Just great. Two more tags I need to record."

Ratchet had entered the room now, staring at the two newcomers. "Oh dear." He sighed. "Looks like I'll need to stock up on replacement parts and medication."

Kasey giggled to herself, reaching into a small fridge in the corner, just in time for their radios to go off again.

It wasn't the usual 'please respond' type of call. It wasn't another officer calling in a license plate. Instead of hearing a friend or co-worker's voice come over their speakers, they all heard the signal for an officer in distress.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

5 Minutes Before

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Remind me again why we're doing your personal business on work time?" Megan asked, grinning over at her partner who was busy reaching for his wallet.

"Because I really want to pay for lunch?" He replied, returning the grin. Megan rolled her eyes. "Just hurry up, Keith. I'm starving." She said, reaching for a clipboard between the two seats, starting to work on a report while she waited.

She looked up when she heard gunfire, her partner's hand steady on the door handle of the main entrance to the bank. In the amount of time it had taken for her to realize that it sounded a lot like automatic gunfire, Keith was already laying on the ground outside the bank.

She had enough time to duck behind her unit, automatic gunfire causing the car to rattle and shake as it impacted the side. She hit the emergency button on her radio, quickly calling for help.

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"_This is 5-George-31! Officers in need of assistance! I'm pinned by automatic gunfire and my partner is down! I need help!"_ There was static burst of gunfire on the line before a small whimper floated through the speakers. _"Someone please help us…"_

Bryan looked at Kasey in disbelief, quickly grabbing his radio. "We're coming Megan! Hold on!" He yelled, grabbing his keys off his belt, already running for the car.

"Bryan wait!" Kasey called after him. "That's automatic gunfire! It'll rip right through our unit!"

He wasn't listening. He didn't even wait for her to get into the car as he sped off, leaving a dust trail in his wake.

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He hadn't even hit the parking lot of the bank and already the hood of his car was rattled with bullet holes. He ducked below the dash, the car screeching to a halt before he ducked out, pressing his back to the car.

He could see Megan huddled up behind her car, her pistol in one hand while the other was pressed to her side.

Bryan peeked over the side of his car, cursing himself. "Shit. AK's and body armor."

Backup could be heard coming from everywhere.

"Dispatch, be advised. Two suspects visible. High-Power automatic rifles with full tactical body armor. Emergency Services requested, code three!" He called, flinching when he felt his car shake from bullet impacts.

"_We copy. Emergency Services has been alerted. ETA is ten to fifteen minutes. Backup en route. Status of officer down?"_

Bryan went prone to the ground, looking under his car to see the downed officer. Keith had pulled himself away from the main entrance before the two suspects had come out of the bank. Now, he lay prone to the ground in a pool of his own blood.

"Keith! Can you hear me?!" Bryan called over the gunfire. The only response he got was more gunfire.

"Dispatch, I'm not getting any response. We need ESU here now!" He growled.

"_I copy! Emergency Services is Thirteen minutes out. You'll have to hold on!"_

"I don't think you're hearing me! We don't have thirteen minutes!" He growled, getting into a crouching position again, seeing Megan slump to her side, panting hard.

He took a deep breath, holstering his weapon and bracing himself before taking a running-leap across the gap between the cars, bracing with his shoulder as he went into a roll, ending up behind the second patrol car. He quickly looked Megan over. "Shit." He cursed out.

"Dispatch! We have a second officer down!" He called into his radio as four other patrol cars came to a stop outside the bank. Officers scrambling for cover. "I need ESU and a bus here right now! We don't have any more time!"

"_Bryan hold on, we're almost there!"_ Kasey's voice came back to him instead of the dispatcher. He mentally slapped himself, how could he have been so stupid. Taking in the fact that he had left her behind and just who the 'we' she was talking about was.

Almost on cue, a siren blared as the Mustang cop car came to a stop a few feet away. Mei and Maya jumping out in their combat gear, trading fire with the visible suspects.

Next he saw Ironhide to his left, Lennox and Maria jumping out, pinning the suspects from another spot. And finally, he saw Ratchet.

The yellow medic was slowly inching forward, Anna and Devon standing behind held open doors, rifles putting bullets towards the suspects while Tyler stayed behind the medic with a blue bag, full of medical supplies.

"_All units, all units. Backup has arrived. We're retrieving wounded officers. Advise Mercy Hospital."_

"_I copy! Be advised, ESU is ten minutes out."_

When Ratchet slowly rolled past Bryan and Megan, Tyler tossed him the blue bag. Bryan ripped it open, immediately starting to treat her. She groaned in pain when he pressed the gauze to her wound.

Gunfire was still blazing when Tyler retrieved Keith, getting the downed officer into the back of Ratchet, calling to Devon. "Target acquired! Fall back!"

Ratchet put himself in reverse, slowly rolling back until they reached Bryan and Megan. Tyler helped Bryan get her into the other gurney, closing the door as he was handed a shotgun and some rounds. He took over while Devon moved to his left; Anna and Tyler getting back into Ratchet, speeding off for the nearest hospital.

Bryan loaded the shotgun, quickly popping out from cover and firing the weapon. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Maria duck into Barricade's trunk, reaching for her sniper rifle while bullets pelted the car. She reappeared, using Barricade's hood to steady her aim. She held her breath and put two rounds down range.

Silence.

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Bryan found himself breathing hard while Kasey wrapped his scraped arm in some gauze and antiseptics.

She grabbed his shoulder looking him in the eye. "You know you're an idiot right? Speeding off like that without me?"

He just sighed at her, shaking his head. "I don't know what came over me. I just reacted."

She rolled her eyes at him. "You're acting like I don't know you." She said, smiling softly. "But if you got yourself killed out here, I never would have forgiven you." She scolded. "You're lucky we know those guys. Not everyone is willing to get shot at just to help you know."

Bryan found the ground more interesting by the second.

"Well anyway, Barricade is feeling a little miffed about having to take bullets for humans. Ironhide is… well, Ironhide about the fact that his paint is all scratched up. I think out of the three that came with us, the only one not complaining about the bullet marks is Ratchet. But then again, when does he complain?" She finished, helping him into Ironhide's back seat, leaving the scene.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was almost systematic. Every time another officer was injured and he was there, she could almost find him two hours later, cleaning his sidearm.

Kasey rolled her eyes, turning back to Tyler. "So where are we with the hacking thing?"

Tyler turned to Glen. "Well, here's the thing…" He started, looking to Maggie, she just glared at him. "We're no further than we were yesterday. The signal doesn't jump from the ocean and we can't find a hard line or another signal coming from that site."

"So." Kasey pressed.

"So," Maggie picked up. "That means that the signal is being generated there. I can't even begin to think about him being alive again."

Kasey looked to Tyler and shrugged. "The only thing I can say to put this whole thing to bed? Get a sub that can handle the pressure, and go there and see for ourselves."

Maggie shook her head. "No, no, no, no, no. Won't work, there is no submarine on the face of this - or any other planet - that can go that deep with someone in it who won't get crushed by the pressure."

"Alright," Tyler countered. "What about the SSC One-Eight-Three?" He asked, grinning at her blank stare.

"It's a remote controlled sub. No human actually goes inside of it. And, because it isn't hollowed out for someone to be in there, can stand the pressure down there." He rattled off, looking proud. He started tapping his keys on his computer. "I'll arrange for it to be sent to the spot and we'll have control from here."

Kasey rolled her eyes, mumbling something about 'smart ass computer geeks'. She looked over at Bryan, only to see he had left his spot at the table. Leaving a half-empty can of hobby wax behind.

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Bryan looked out over the makeshift dirt track. The twins were currently taunting each other while doing laps around the track. He hopped up onto an empty gar barrel, watching Ratchet watch them race.

"They always compete like that?" He spoke suddenly, nearly causing the bot to jump.

Ratchet simply nodded. "It's in their programming. They compete, they argue, but at the end of their code, it's a bond closer than most human brothers would share."

Bryan nodded his understanding. He had had a brother a long time ago. He shook his head - just another part of his past.

"I, uh…" He mentally slapped himself strait. "I wanted to thank you and the others for coming to our aid today. I don't think Megan or Keith would have made it out alive if it wasn't for you guys."

Ratchet nodded. "You're quiet welcome. I'd like to think that if the rolls were reversed you would come to my aid."

Bryan nodded. "Of course I would. Not even because I know you, it's just who I am."

He was about to say more, but from behind him, Kasey cleared her throat. "Come on. Teresa is looking for us."

Bryan sighed, allowing his head to hang for a minute. "Them's the breaks." He sighed, getting up, waving his goodbye before getting into another replacement car and driving away.

Ratchet found himself grinning, they had done a good thing today.

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"See?!" Tyler yelled, pointing at the oversized projection on the wall. "There is no evidence of a hard-line here! Not even a remote uplink! That signal is origionating from where Megatron's spark used to be!"

The camera sub had been lowered to the Decepticon's grave site. Right now, they were all looking at a EMF reading on that screen. The signal was strong. It was being sent from that location - no doubt about it.

"This makes no sense." Maggie sighed, rubbing her forehead. "He's dead. Sam killed him! The spark isn't even there!"

Ratchet eyed the screen curiously, thinking about what he was seeing. He gasped slightly suddenly. "It isn't coming from the spark casing." He stated, point at the screen. "It coming from behind the casing. The communications unit!"

Tyler looked up at the medic. "Meaning…?"

"It means," Ironhide picked up. "That someone is sending the hacking signal through his communications unit. This also tells us that it may not be a human hacker you're looking for."

Mei found herself looking over at Barricade who had busied himself in a corner of the hanger. Still uncomfortable around them. She snapped from her thoughts, looking back at the group, keeping her voice low.

"Are you saying that it's a Decepticon sending this signal?"

Barricade still heard her, but decided to remain quiet.

Ratchet shook his head. "The frequency doesn't belong to the Decepticons. Anyway, Decepticons or Autobots can access it… maybe even a human who managed to get a hold of a communications unit."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Sir! I have our next target's mind frequency." The technician reported, waving the man in a black uniform over. The man looked over the screen, grinning as he saw Bumblebee's stats on the screen.

"Very nice." He said, nodding in his approval. "So far we've been able to get them to attack each other. We even made one of them attack themselves. Now lets see if we can make them attack a human." He said, taping the Technician's shoulder. "Program in a hack to start when that robot falls asleep. His target will be Sam Witwhicky." He stopped, thinking for a moment.

"And one more thing," He started. "Program a failsafe. If he fails to get his target, he's to terminate himself. Understood?"

The man in the white lab coat looked up at his boss, nodding. "Yes, sir. I'll get right on it, Agent Simmons."


	8. Pursuit Of: Signal

Bumblebee looked around the semi-darkened room. He noted that the current time was getting close to one in the morning and that just about everyone had turned in for the night.

Tyler was a few feet away from him, head down on the table next to his laptop, snoring away. The green words 'looking for signal' blinking on the screen.

He knew that Mikeala had gone home for the night already and Sam was sleeping in his quarters. The other bots had already gone for their nightly stasis a few hours ago. Off in another corner of the hanger, Mei was sparring with a punching bag, with Maya snoozing in a chair not too far away.

The rest of their team had taken to the guest rooms a while ago.

Bumblebee shrugged his shoulders, heading for the room he shared with Sam. The door hissed open as he entered, and hissed closed around the same time his head hit the pillow. He shut off his optics and prepared himself for stasis.

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Tyler was beyond tired. To the point where the tech had passed out at his station, rather than in his room. He woke up to the sound of Mei beating up the punching bag and a beeping noise.

His head sprung up from the cold hard desk when he realized just what that beeping noise was. He looked as his monitor, reading the words 'signal found, tracing'.

"M-m-mei! It's happening again!" He stuttered, calling her over. Maya woke up when he yelled, quickly following behind. Mei was quick to stand over Tyler's shoulder as he tapped furiously at the keys.

"Forget trying to trace it! Find out who they're trying to hack!" She yelled, un-holstering her sidearm and loading a fresh magazine into it. It wouldn't harm whoever was being hacked, but it would distract them long enough to get the others involved.

"That signal… they're hacking-"

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"Bumblebee!" Sam gasped.

He had been sleeping until the bot had poked him in the side with his charged cannon. Sam didn't think much of it until he heard the angry hum. He had quickly sprung out of his bed, not even caring about being naked except for his boxers as he pressed himself to a wall.

He wouldn't believe what he was seeing. The yellow bot, his best friend, his guardian, was aiming his plasma cannon right at him. The room glowing in the orange light admitted from the barrel of the plasma cannon.

"Bumblebee, what are you doing? This isn't funny!" Sam hissed, realizing the one way out of the room was through the door - which was directly across from him.

"I have a message from Sector Seven Agent Simmons." It wasn't Bumblebee's voice. It wasn't the radio. This was a distorted and twisted computer voice. "He says he'll see you in hell."

Sam closed his eyes, readying himself for the feeling of death when he heard the door hiss open a shots being fired.

He opened his eyes to see Bumblebee whirl around at the three agents standing behind him. He lets his plasma shot fly. They all took cover. But now the base alarms were going off.

Sam took his chances, darting between the bots legs and sliding out into the hallway, taking cover as a plasma shot just barely went above his head. He was quickly grabbed by Tyler who pushed him flat to the opposite wall as another shot rang out.

Maya and Mei were quick to reload and fire more rounds at the hacked bot. Sam had to admit, they looked scary at that moment. Both of them had their eyes narrowed, faces twisted in pure concentration. He found himself happy to not be on the other end of those blazing pistols.

The floor rattled as Ironhide and Ratchet came running down the hall, only a few feet away from Bumblebee's door when they heard a plasma shot the same time as Maya and Mei ducked behind the wall again expecting the shot to come into the hallway like the others.

It didn't.

Ironhide watched the door hiss closed before he stepped in front of it, charging his cannon before allowing the door to open.

The black bot didn't fire a shot, instead he lowered his arm. "Ratchet!"

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Bryan groaned in annoyance as his cell phone had vibrated itself off the shelf above his bed, falling and hitting him flat in the face. He figured he would have learned not to keep it up there at night anymore.

Yah, right.

He flipped it open, seeing Kasey's name flash on the screen, a little red dot under it. He blinked, looking at his clock. "A priority one call? At this time of night?" He wondered, hitting the talk button he held the phone up to his ear. "What wrong?"

"_I just received a phone call from Sam. Something is up, he couldn't make his words right, just kept repeating Bumblebee's name over and over before the line went dead. I didn't think much of it until Teresa called and said that the alarm at the Autobot base had gone off."_

"What do you think happened?"

"_I don't really know… some kind of accident maybe? I hope everyone is okay. Anyway, listen, Teresa is on her way to pick you up and head to the base. I'll meet you there in an hour, I have to make a run and pick a few things up. See you in a bit."_ The line went dead. Bryan just stared at his cell phone. "What the hell…" He whispered to himself, crawling out of the warmth of his bed and tossing some clothes on. He locked his apartment door before heading for the main lobby.

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Bryan rolled his eyes when his supervisor arrived. If there was any unmarked car in their feet that simply scream of 'police' it was her Expedition. Jet black with LED lights visible in the front window. Of course, there was some in the back window too.

He opened the passenger side door, climbing in and resting his head on the back of the seat, closing his eyes. "So, what's so important that I need to be half-awake at this time of night?" He asked, even if he was more interested in sleeping.

"We don't know, but given the evidence that we do have, I just have a gut feeling we need to get there now." Teresa replied.

Bryan had to admit he almost looked up to his boss. One of three females to actually work their division Teresa had been quick to make a name for herself. Even if half the time she looked like a blond beach girl.

"Wake me when we get there." Bryan grumbled, curling up in his seat.

"Not so fast." She sighed, turning onto the highway. "We need to talk."

"If it's something bad, I didn't do it. If it's good - I worked alone." Bryan said, opening just one eye to look at her.

"Remember the discussion Me, You, and Kasey had after the Mission City incident?"

Bryan snorted, both eyes open and rolling them. "How could I forget?"

Now it was her turn to roll her eyes. "Well, I've gotten the go ahead from the higher ups. That plan is effective tonight."

Suddenly, Bryan found himself wide awake. "What? But I thought we agreed that it wasn't the right thing to do."

She shook her head. "That may be, but with things the way they have been the past few weeks. The top brass would sleep better at night knowing that the hacker or hackers are six feet under."

Bryan turned his gaze out the window. "Do we really want to start such a operation?"

Teresa looked over at him. "To be honest?" She asked, turning back to the road. "Yes, I think it is." She laughed softly to herself. "Looks like we're just not normal cops anymore, huh?"

Bryan didn't answer at first. "Looks that way. So, when does the equipment arrive?"

"First thing tomorrow morning."

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Mei shook her head, looking from Sam to Ratchet and then the table in front of Ratchet. The medic had spent the past half hour working to save Bumblebee.

The bot had been hacked, as confirmed by Tyler, but when his attack on Sam didn't work, he had turned his plasma cannon onto himself, cracking his spark casing with the powerful blast.

Ratchet folded his arms over his chest, sighing as he looked down at the youngest of their team. "He is stable, and I was able to repair the crack in his spark casing, but… he's in what you humans would call a coma."

"A coma?" Sam echoed, having finished climbing onto the table, looking over his friend. "I don't understand…"

"He is currently unable to pull himself from stasis. It would be way to risky for me to try and force him out of it. We will simply have to wait and see." The medic said, checking the various monitors around the yellow Autobot.

Sam could tell there was something he wasn't being told, but he decided to wait until later to ask. It was obvious that now wasn't the time.

"That's it!" Ironhide growled out. "When I find out who's been behind all this, human or not, I swear on the Allspark, I'm putting him in the ground." The weapons specialist was mashing his fist into an open palm to match his aggression.

Sam snapped from his daze, turning to Ironhide. "It's Simmons." He whispered. "Before Bee won't offline he told me… Simmons is behind the whole thing."

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Bryan looked around the main hanger. "Where is everyone?" He asked, starting to walk down the main hallway, Teresa following behind him. She had never been in the base before, thus didn't know where he was leading her. She was, however, sure that the fresh burn marks on the wall were not a good sign.

Bryan looked at the marks, touching one of them and quickly pulling his hand back. "They're still hot. They're extremely fresh." He mumbled out loud. "That's Sam and Bumblebee's room." He said, point at the doorway, burn marks outlining the door. "Something is very, very wrong here." He whispered to himself, starting to pick up his pace down the hallway, un-holstering his weapon.

Entering the medical bay he found them all standing around the main operation table. He holstered his sidearm realizing what had happened.

"Another hack?" He asked out loud, receiving nods all around.

"Yes." Came Maya's answer. "They hacked Bumblebee this time. Made him attack Sam and them put him in a coma through what I can only guess is a virus."

"Not to mention the part where he tried to kill himself." Mei added, turning to regard the two cops. "Who's that?" She asked, nodding at Teresa.

"Teresa J. Hooker." She replied, glaring when she saw Anna snicker behind her hand. "Say it and you won't walk strait for a week." She growled. Bryan rolled his eyes. "Making friends with the locals." He sighed, looking back at the table. "He going to be okay?"

Ratchet shook his head. "I cannot be sure." The medic looked at Sam before looking back to the group. "I think it would be best if everyone left the room for now. Give those two some peace and quiet." He said, quickly ushering everyone from the room, looking over his shoulder before closing the door. Leaving Sam to his thoughts.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I have some news." Bryan began when they had made it back to the main hanger. "We have been given authorization to re-start our little Black Ops group. It'll be just Me, Teresa, and Kasey. But it's not our first round so, we'll help where we can."

Optimus raised an optic brow. "Black Ops?" He questioned, searching the internet for an answer.

"Think Secret Agent stuff." Anna offered. "Just in groups."

Bryan nodded. "All of our equipment arrives tomorrow. We'll get started then."

"Do we have a target?" Teresa asked, looking around.

Mikeala nodded. "His name is Simmons. He was a Section Seven member. But… I don't think he is anymore. They were never the hacking type."

Bryan heard another car pull up, turning to see Kasey and Lennox enter the hanger. She was grinning sheepishly at Bryan. "He insisted on coming."

Bryan nodded. "Good to see you again Captain. I take it she has brought you up to date?"

He nodded. "I still can't believe it." He sighed. "I thought we were done with this shit after Mission City."

"Yah, me too." Bryan sighed, thinking a little. "Okay well, since we don't know where Simmons is we're going to have to do a little detective work."

Ratchet nodded. "Well we now know how he could have gotten a hold of a communications unit. They had Megatron in their hanger and when the captured Bumblebee. Either time they could have learned how to build one."

Will nodded. "Right. But what do you need to broadcast it?"

"Large power supply and some sort of fast internet connection." Ironhide stated, looking down at Will.

"Like… a Cable connection?" Kasey asked, looking to Tyler for an answer. The tech shrugged. "I don't know how much data you need to transmit to get it to work."

"Well over three hundred megabytes a minute." Ratchet supplied. Tyler did the calculations in his head. "That's way more than Cable… that's a freakin' T5 line." He said, sitting in his chair and starting to tap away at the keys.

"Also, he would have to be close to here in order to keep track of the attacks and how successful the hacks were. He wouldn't want to be too far." Lennox supplied, looking over Tyler's shoulder.

"Okay, I'll do a search for any T5 line within… say, five hundred miles of here?" He asked, looking over his shoulder, getting blank stares and shrugs. He did the search.

"I have two hundred matches." Tyler said, turning around.

"Remove any school and medical buildings." Mei said, pointing at the screen.

"Seventy-Five." Tyler reported back. "There are two right here in the main city."

Bryan looked at Kasey. "Alright, we'll start with those two." He said, looking back to the group. "Decision time guys." He said. "Do we storm each of the buildings to look for him, or do we go covert. Spook Simmons until he can't even stand the sight of his own shadow? We'd have him looking over his shoulder every other step."

"I don't care what you do to him," Sam's voice came from the hallway, the teen standing with his head hung low. Not that they needed to see his face to know he was upset. "But I want him to suffer for what he's done. Destroy him. Mentally, physically, emotionally. I want him either dead or spending the rest of his days going insane."

Kasey look from Teresa to Bryan. "What do you say guys? Give the guy a good scare and make him run?"

Bryan nodded. "I say we let him know we're here and that we can get to him any time we want. Keep him guessing and moving before we swoop in for the kill." He said, looking back to Optimus for approval. The oldest mech nodded.

"You guys will need a pair of fast cars." Ironhide said, grinning at Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. Both bots nodded.

"Anything to help Bumblebee."


	9. Pursuit Of: Simmons

He felt like he was in a movie. That was the only actual way to explain it.

"So just to make sure I understand this," Bryan said. "We've been able to figure out where he eats his weekly lunch, just not what building they're working in?" He looked across the table to Kasey who was looking at a menu, she simply nodded.

"That's the truth. The part that really sucks here is that even now that we know he eats here, it is within a short trip of our two known buildings. So we'll have to follow him back, without attracting attention…" She looked up at him, scowling. "Will you take off this stupid sun glasses?" She hissed, looking back at her menu. "Stupid Tom Cruise reject."

"That hurt." Bryan pouted, smiling at the waitress when she brought him his drink. "Besides, I like my sun glasses."

"Damn it Bryan," Kasey sighed. "It's raining out, why are you wearing sun glasses?"

He just grinned at her. She glared at him. "Knock it off, you're acting childish."

He stuck his tongue out at her. "My mommy says I can be whatever I want to be." He replied, chuckling to himself. "Seriously Kasey, lighten up. You're acting like he knows our faces. Look around this place, it's pack with tourists. He'll never spot us."

Kasey rolled her eyes at him. "So much for being professional." She lowered her voice a little. "Status check everyone."

"_Teresa here, I haven't seen him. Are you sure we're in the right place?"_

"_I am one hundred percent positive."_ Came Ratchet's voice. _"Your city's own traffic camera system confirms it. Unfortunately, they are only active around the town's square, so I am unable to tell where he goes or where he is coming from."_

"_I've been watching the cameras for a while now. If he's going to show, it's going to be soon."_ Ironhide stated.

The Autobot's had spread out. Ratchet parked outside the nearest Hospital, and Ironhide a few blocks away in a parking garage. Optimus, being the most obvious out of the bunch, was parked at a truck stop a little under a mile out of the town, though still within range of communications. Tyler, Sam and Mikeala were still at the base and Lennox was home with his family, though not more than a phone call away.

Teresa had parked herself and her Expedition at the town center's green. She could see the restaurant that Bryan and Kasey were in and had a complete visible view of all the roads leading to and from the town's green. She sighed, staring out her windshield. It had been a while since her last stake out.

"_For the record."_ She heard Bryan's voice come over the radio. _"I love the work you did on these communication devices, Ratchet, but I can't shake the feeling that they're going to give me Caner."_

"_I assure you they are completely safe."_ Ratchet replied, completely unaware of the sarcasm in Bryan's comment. She expected a reply, but heard Ironhide instead.

"_I've got a blue vehicle that just went past the south camera. I ran the vehicle identification number, your department of motor vehicles says it's a government issue vehicle. Think it's him?"_

Back in the restaurant, Bryan looked up from his menu. "It's possible." He said, looking at Kasey. "Well, yah, it's entire possible." She rolled her eyes at him. "Come on, what are the chances."

"My, my. You're just a regular pain in the ass today aren't you. Didn't have your morning coffee?" He asked, grinning at her.

"No." She replied sharply. "Sideswipe just kept tightening the seatbelt across my breasts the entire ride here."

"_Sorry!"_ Came the laughed reply from Sideswipe, the Autobot parked in a parking garage behind the restaurant. _"I just wanted you to be safe. Safety first!"_

Kasey grumbled. "See how safe you are when I pay Ratchet to clean out your exhaust system everyday for a year."

"_You wouldn't have to pay me much."_ Ratchet replied.

"_You guys are no fair."_ Sideswipe whined. Kasey rolled her eyes.

"_Don't forget about us guys!"_ Maya said over the radio. Kasey looked out the window near them to see Sunstreaker pull to a stop behind Teresa's car and flash his high beams.

"_We're in position."_ Mei added. Kasey watched Barricade roll to a stop on the other side of the green.

"Hail, hail, the gangs all here." Bryan chuckled, looking at Kasey. "Stop pouting. You should be happy the car felt you up." He was about to say more, but Kasey gripped the steak knife at the table, just as Simmons entered the restaurant. She glared at Bryan. "You say something hunny?" She hissed.

"Nothing dear." He gulped a little, taking a quick drink of his soda.

"_The birds in the café."_ Maya said over the radio.

"_What bird?"_ Sunstreaker asked.

"_I didn't see a bird enter the restaurant. Did you, Barricade?"_ Sideswipe added. The former Decepticon just huffed over the radio. _"Muffles yourselves."_

"_Harsh."_ Came Maya, giggling over the radio. _"We're all set here Anna. Do you have a visual?"_

Somewhere on the roof of the building directly across from the restaurant, a miserable Maria and Anna sat, soaking in the cold rain.

"I have a visual." Anna sighed. "Someone explain to us again why we get all the shit jobs?!"

"_Because,"_ Mei replied quickly. _"Rank has privilege."_

Anna rolled her eyes. "Stay sharp guys, it looks like Simmons is meeting with someone."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Simmons smiled as he saw his partner enter the restaurant, quickly spotting him in the corner booth by the window. The man sat down, setting his umbrella by his feet.

"So, what's good here?" He asked, looking from the menu to Simmons.

Simmons just shrugged. "Anything is good. Try the Tuna."

The older man just chuckled. "So, how are things moving? Are we on schedule?"

Simmons nodded. "Right on, sir. In fact-"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bryan grimaced seeing who was sitting across the table from Simmons. "Ah, shit… this is a lot deeper than we thought."

"_What's wrong? I can't see who he's meeting with."_ Teresa said quickly, Bryan could tell she was anxious.

"It's Jeffery Duffer. He's a high ranking military official involved in testing advanced weaponry." Kasey said, keeping her voice down.

"_Are you saying that the military is aware of what's going on?"_ Optimus spoke for the first time during the stakeout.

"We cannot say that for sure. There are some less than clean people in our military. We've been trying to smoke them out for years." Bryan replied, watching as Jeffery chatted away with Simmons before placing a twenty dollar bill on the table, nodding his goodbye before heading outside.

"_I've got a visual."_ Mei reported from Barricade. _"Want me to tail him?"_

"_Negative."_ Teresa came back. _"If he's working for Simmons he'll recognize Barricade on his tail. I've got him."_ Bryan heard her say as he saw her car pull away from the curb. Doing an extremely illegal u-turn before pulling behind Jeffery's car. _"I'll follow him a few blocks and then pull a traffic stop. Lets see what the Major has in his car, hmm?"_

Bryan shook his head, looking at Kasey. "Ready?"

She nodded, getting up. He followed her as they weaved their way through the crowded bar area before coming to the other side of the dining section. Without so much as a word they both sat a Simmons's table.

The former Sector Seven agent looked up at the two who had just sat at his table.

"I think you're lost." He stated, glaring at the two.

"I don't think so. Do you?" Kasey asked, looking at Bryan who shrugged. "See?" She asked, looking back at him. "We're right were we want to be."

Simmons shrugged his shoulders. "Suit yourself." He said, starting to stand. Bryan stood first, gripping his shoulder. "Please, sit, Mr. Simmons, stay a while."

"Let. Me. Go." Simmons growled, trying harder to stand up. Bryan just pushed him down in his seat. "Sit." He simply said.

"What do you want?" Simmons growled at Kasey before looking back at Bryan. When he had looked away, Bryan had placed his hands on his hips, letting his jacket slip back a little, showing off the Colt 1911 in it's holster. A calculated move.

"You're going to shoot a man in a public place?" Simmons laughed a little. "What makes you think you'll make it out of here?"

Kasey shrugged. "We're just that damn good?" She asked, looking to Bryan, who nodded. "Yup, that damn good." She confirmed, looking back at Simmons. "We want what you have."

"If you want my sandwich that badly, here, take it." He said, pushing the plate to her. She pushed it back, smiling evilly at him. "Not that. See, we've been tracking your movements for about a month now. And today confirmed what we thought. We know you're up to some high-grade hacking stuff. My guess is that it would be on those robots who attacked Mission City? Yah, judging by the look in your eyes, that's it." She looked to Bryan with a grin, clearly enjoying herself. "We want a piece of that action. We want to know what you know, and we want some of your money."

"And if I refuse?" Simmons glared at Kasey who simply shrugged.

"Well you won't refuse if you like keeping your head on your shoulders. A very good friend of ours is sitting on a building out there with a sniper rifle. Silenced and all that. She's very, very good at hitting moving targets. It would only take one," She said, holding up a single finger. "phone call to end your life."

Simmons was now visibly shaken, Kasey grinned a little more. "I see I have your attention."

Bryan took over. "Bring us in on your deal, and everyone is happy. Screw us over, and we know how to find you." He leaned forward, picking up the twenty that Jeffery had left on the table, slipping it into his coat pocket. "A sign of good faith, yes?"

Simmons nodded. "Fine, fine. How do I contact you when I'm ready to deal?"

Kasey shook her head. "Don't worry about it. We'll contact you when we are ready." She stood up. "Enjoy your lunch Mr. Simmons. And remember," She called over her shoulder. "We'll be watching."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I think he actually pissed himself." Mei said to herself, hearing the entire situation from her earpiece.

"Why would he piss himself?" Barricade questioned. "She didn't sound that scary to me."

Mei just grinned. "It's not just in the voice. It's all in the body language. If she grins, winks, even sits a certain way. He picked up on it. He knows they mean business." She said, watching Bryan and Kasey make way for the parking garage.

"Ready for part two guys?" She asked into her ear piece.

"_More than I'll ever be."_ Maya replied. When Simmons's car went past Sunstreaker, the Autobot waited for another car to pass before pulling out, following Simmons's car at a distance. "Remember," Mei began. "if you think you've been made, call us and we'll have Barricade here pull you over."

"_Good to know we covered all the bases. Maria, Anna, you guys are all set, pack up and head back to base."_ Bryan said over the comm. link. _"See you guys back at the base."_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sam hadn't spoke much over the past few hours. in fact, the only words that Mikeala, Maggie, Glen, or Tyler heard from his mouth was when he dropped his water bottle on his foot.

Mikeala had never seen him like this before. Though she knew that Bumblebee had been Sam's best friend. Thick or thin, the Autobot was the first one there for him, every single time.

She knew that Sam felt horrible about not being able to help his friend. She also knew, that if things kept up, Sam wouldn't be getting better any time soon.

She looked at the three techs who were busy trying to figure out how to sever the link between Simmons's and Megatron's comm. device, as well as figure out how to bring Bee back online.

So far, it had been a losing battle.

She looked up hopefully hearing a revving engine outside the hanger, Bryan and Kasey walking in.

"We did it. He knows we're here and that we want a piece of his pie." Bryan said, rolling his eyes when Glen looked up. "And thanks to Maya and Sunstreaker, we now know where his base of operations is. Now it's just a matter of tearing it apart piece by piece."

Kasey nodded, continuing. "And thanks to Teresa, we now have his military contact in custody. She's bring him back here for a little interrogation. Needless to say, he's been relived of duty, thanks to a certain USAF Captain."

Bryan looked over at Sam who hadn't moved from the same chair since they had all left, he sighed a little. Trying to think of something comforting to say to the boy. Instead he found himself sitting across from him, un-holstering his gun, starting to clean it like he always had. He knew that Kasey thought it was a compulsive thing. And even when he tried to deny it to himself, it was true. But he knew that a clean pistol, was a working one. Simple as that.

He looked up hearing something heavy hit the ground and Teresa sigh. The handcuffed form of Jeffery Duffer wiggling around on the ground. She lifted him by the handcuffs, sitting him in a chair. "Ladies, Gentlemen, and Autobots alike," She said, "I give you the man of this god forsaken hour, Jeffery Duffer."

Bryan put his gun down on the table before turning around to look at Jeffery and then to Kasey. "What do you think? Should we wait for everyone else to get back before we start?"

Kasey nodded, and was about to say something when Sam sprung from his chair, grabbing Bryan's gun off the table and quickly moving to Jeffery before anyone could grab him.

In all the time Mikeala had known Sam, she had never, once, seen him become as violent as he was now.

Sam was shaking as he held up the black pistol. Aiming right between Jeffery's eyes.

Bryan had his hands held out in front of him, try to talk Sam out of what he was thinking. Teresa and Kasey had, on instinct, placed their hands on their own weapons.

No one in the room dared to breathe.

"Sam? Sam! Listen to me." Bryan began, keeping his voice leveled and even. "You don't want to do that. Come on, Sam, just put it down. We can fix what's been done, but you need to trust us."

Sam was still shaking, tears in his eyes as he glared at the handcuffed figure before him. No one dared to move towards the grieving teen, yet alone attempt to disarm him.

"Sam? Are you listening? Hey, look at me." Bryan didn't raise his voice. Sam shakily turned his head towards the cop. "Listen carefully to what I have to say. If you shoot him, chances are in your state you will pull that trigger way more than once. If you kill him it will be that much harder for us to fix what he has done. We need him alive, Sam."

It seemed like Sam was actually listening to him, so he continued.

"Think if the roles were reversed and you were in a coma. You and I both know that Bee wouldn't rest until you were awake and well again. But we also both know he wouldn't go around just killing the small timers. He would look for the bigger guys, those who know how to fix what's been done. But to do that he would need the small fish."

Bryan was about to say more, but he found himself looking down the barrel of his own gun. Now Kasey and Teresa had pulled their weapons, aiming at Sam. "Whoa! Hey! Lowers those right now!" Bryan yelled at them. "Sam, don't do this."

"Don't you dare." Sam shuddered as he spoke. "Don't you dare talk about Bumblebee like he was your best friend. Do not act like you've known him for nearly as long as I have."

Jeffery knew that after all was said and done, he would be better off dead. He took his chances. "Don't listen to him boy! Shoot me! Go ahead! Do it! I tried to kill your friend! That dumb ass yellow Camaro of yours! I made him shoot you and then himself! Go ahead, kill me!"

And just like that, Sam turned, pulling the trigger once.

"Sam!" Bryan yelled, watching Jeffery flinch a little before opening his eyes, looking down. A fresh bullet hole in his chair, right between his legs.

Bryan stepped in, grabbing the gun just as Sam let it dangle from his hands. He shuddered a little before taking a sobbing breath. "You need him alive." Sam repeated slowly, taking a step and sitting on a bench. "That is the only reason."

Mikeala was at his side. "I know Sam, I know."


	10. Pursuit Of: Twisting Fiction

It had been nearly a full half hour after the incident before everyone else had returned back to the Autobot base. Maya and Mei were the last two to enter, the former holding her shoulder and glaring at the Japanese woman. "Did you have to be so rough with me?"

Mei just grinned, shrugging. "Stop being a baby. You're fine."

"My shoulder hurts." Maya challenged, glaring at Mei.

"You're fine." Mei repeated, looking around the room. "I see we have our prisoner."

"More or less." Bryan sighed, glancing over at Sam before continuing. "I think our interrogation would best be done in that back storage room. The one with the drain in the floor. Makes clean up easy."

Mei caught on, nodding. "Bring him along."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The dimly lit room in itself was a scary thing. Jeffery didn't even want to wonder about Mei in front of him. She had folded her arms, glaring down at him. "You, sir, are in a shit load of trouble." She hissed. "Not only did you attack the Autobots in what I could only think of calling an unprovoked attack and possible declaration of war, but you put one of their own offline. He is currently, laying on a slab in the medical bay fighting for his life."

Maya picked up, pushing off the wall she had been leaning on. "We'll start with the simplest question of all: Why?"

Jeffery held his tongue fast. Not daring to speak to either girl. Maya shook her head. "You won't be quiet for long." She whispered. "You're dealing with a Black Ops unit. You know damn well we can do what we please."

Mei held her hand out to her friend, telling her to be quiet. There was a drawn out silence before she spoke, hand positioned on her chin, just barely covering her lower lip. "Did you know," she began "that I built my team by myself?" She asked. "Hand picked." She admitted proudly. "Which makes them that much worse for the enemy. Which is you." She pointed at Jeffery. "Now here's what you need to know. My weapons officer, Maria, is an ex-KGB officer. You and I both know the torture they are capable of inflicting on a human being. Maya here, spent two years under cover in North Korea. They taught her many, many things in the ways of," She paused for effect as if looking for the right words. "extracting information. And then, there's me." She stated, leaning forward, only a few inches from his face. "I spent five years of my life, before becoming a US citizen, running errands for the Japanese mob. In return, they trained me in how to handle those who didn't want to pay protection." She hissed, taking a step back. "Now we'll ask again: Why did you attack them?"

Again, Jeffery bit his lip.

Maya rolled her eyes, un-holstering her pistol she placed it right above his knee cap. "Do you know the pain I can inflict upon you?" She asked, clicking back the gun's hammer. "I will ask a final time. Why did you attack the Autobots?" She waited five seconds. "Alright." She shrugged, placing her finger on the trigger.

Jeffery crumbled.

"Wait! Don't do it!" The man cried. "I'll tell you!"

Mei nodded. "We're listening."

"The attack was a test of a new weapons system. The higher ups in our government don't realize the power that they are sitting on! Those robots have the ability to end wars! They could end the war in Iraq in just a day! And yet those pompous asses in Washington won't simply gather them up and send them out!" He yelled. "The whole point of the hacks was to show them just what power they have at their control!"

Maya growled at him. "The reason why they don't 'gather them up and send them out' is because they are not just robots! They think! They feel! They are not just tools for your war!"

"You're just as stupid as the rest of them." Jeffery hissed, yelping when Maya's pistol butt met with the side of his head. "Watch your tongue."

Mei shook her head. "Next question: What did you do to Bumblebee?"

"I," Jeffery hissed, wishing he could hold his aching head. "didn't do a damn thing. It's what Simmons did."

"Regardless!" Maya yelled. "What did you do to him?!"

"It's an adaptable virus. We've been studying the Decepticon hacking signal for months since the first attack. The virus will eat away at his data banks, eat away at his memory until your friend," he spat "will cease to function."

Maya looked at Mei who simply nodded. Jeffery found himself looking down the barrel of the girl's gun.

"I will only ask this question once." She growled at him. "How do we fix it?"

"You don't." He replied. "We didn't create a vaccine. And anything you throw at it will just cause it to adapt and move faster through his system. You should take your time and say your goodbyes while you can." He was grinned at them till Mei nodded at Maya. "I'm going to go report to the others. Take care of our problem while I'm gone."

"With pleasure." Maya replied, her eyes narrowed at the man in front of her.

He'd survive her… barely.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"He said that the signal they used to hack Bumblebee and implant the virus was all based off of the signals used to hack the USAF mainframe during the first original Decepticon attack." Mei stated, looking around the room. "Any ideas?"

"Me and Maggie could revamp the signal into an anti-virus… if we have the time and the equipment." Glen spoke up.

Mei nodded. "Whatever you need tell Tyler." She said, point to her team's tech.

"We'll just need a decent computer with some software and Barricade's help." Maggie said to Tyler, the youngest tech nodded. "I've got a decent system set up already in the medical bay."

"I will help you, human." Barricade sighed, turning to walk towards the med bay.

"Maggie." She corrected. "My name is Maggie, not _human_ and diffidently not _flesh bag._"

She was about to say more but Bryan tapped her on the shoulder. "Baby steps." He said, pressing his fingers together in a sign of 'small'. She rolled her eyes at him, giggling as she headed for the med bay.

Meanwhile, Mei had turned to Kasey. "Maya is in there now getting information from him. We'll pass on what we get to you and Bryan to use on your case with Simmons. Anything you need, just ask."

"You got it." Kasey nodded, turning to Bryan who was making faces at Barricade's back. "Stop that!" She hissed, grabbing him by the back of his shirt. He only just grinned at her.

"Come on, lets get some rest. Sounds like tomorrow is going to be a busy day." Teresa said, separating the two before they could fight. Both nodded, heading for their respective rooms.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Maggie sat in front of the multi-screen computer, grinning like a five year old at Christmas. "I thought you said you had a 'decent' system." She asked, looking at Tyler. He only shrugged. "It is by my standards."

She rolled her eyes. "I would kill to get this computer in my apartment." She grinned, looking at Barricade as she tapped a few keys. "I need you to hack this computer for a .doc file. It's the only way for me to record your signal."

The robot nodded, grabbing the computer's mainframe just as a hacking signal floated over the computer's speakers. Having retrieved the file, he took a step back.

She had recorded his signal and was currently working on pulling it apart piece by piece. She worked for a few minutes before sighing. "Going to need a little music for this one." She said to herself, pulling a CD from her bag and placing it in the CD-ROM drive.

She cracked her knuckles once before returning to work, fingers hitting all the keys in just the right order to pull the signal apart.

_Father of mine,_

_Tell me where have you been,_

_You know I just close my eyes,_

_My whole world disappears,_

_Father of mine,_

_Take me back to the day,_

_Yah, when I was still your golden boy,_

_Back before you went away,_

Tyler looked over her shoulder as she continued to work fast. Computer code appearing on the screen as the signal was dissected over and over until it was down to it's base component.

He had to hold back a grin when she had started to bob her head to the song.

_I remember blue skies,_

_Walking the block,_

_I loved it when you held me high,_

_I loved to hear you talk_

_You would take me to the movies,_

_You would take me to the beach,_

_Take me to a place inside that so hard to reach,_

She was getting close to finding what made the signal 'tick'. She could feel it in her finger tips as the danced gracefully over the keyboard before her. She was sure she was close, all the math, all the code seemed to add up just perfectly, she was missing a single piece.

_Father of mine,_

_Where did you go?_

_Yah, you had the world inside you, man_

_But you did not seem to know,_

_Father of mine,_

_Tell me what do you see,_

_When you look back at your wasted life,_

_And you don't see me,_

Tyler pointed at a piece of broken code on the screen, tapping her shoulder to get her to look up at it. She studied it for a moment before grinning, nodding her head as she worked to repair it as quick as she could, fingers pulling a double shift.

_I was ten years old,_

_doing all that I could,_

_It wasn't easy for me,_

_to be a scared white boy in a black neighborhood,_

_Sometimes you would send me a birthday card,_

_with a five dollar bill,_

_Yeah, I never understood you then,_

_and I guess I never will,_

The CD skipped as she slammed her fist down on the table, standing up quickly, the chair toppling over and startling Tyler, Glen, and much to everyone surprise Barricade when she yelled at the top of her lungs. "Yes!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

She was running down the hall at top speed. "Ratchet!" She yelled, running into the main hanger. "Ratchet!" She called again, running outside. "Ratchet!" She called a final time rounding the corner fast and nearly running headlong into the medic's metal leg.

"There you are!" She gasped out, panting slightly.

"What's the problem?" He ran a scan. "You don't appear to be injured."

"I'm not!" She confirmed. "We did it! We modified the code! We created some sort of anti-virus and now we need you to somehow put it into Bumblebee's system to get that whole coma thing gone!" She yelled, speaking a mile a minute. The medical officer waited patiently for her to finish before sighing. "One more time. Slower."

"Just get in here!" She growled, heading for the med bay.

Ratchet looked to Ironhide who simply shrugged, more confused than the medic was. They both followed behind Maggie.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"It makes since." Ratchet confirmed, looking over the code in front of him. "It even adapts as it goes. Very nice work, Maggie." He said as he started to connect wires from Bumblebee to the computer. He attached a few more before looking down at Tyler. "He should be showing up as 'Removable Disk B'." The medic said, watching as Tyler nodded, the icon showing up on the computer.

A few clicks and keystrokes later and the words 'file copying' appeared on the screen.

The room breathed a sigh of relief before Tyler spoke up. "Who wants to be the one to tell Sam?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bryan growled as he rolled over, hearing someone pounding on his door. He looked at the door, burning a hole in it with his gaze before he sighed, getting up and taking a few steps towards the door. "If you don't stop pounding on this fu-" He stopped seeing Kasey standing there dressed up like she was heading out for a night on the town.

"What are you doing?" He sighed, rubbing his temples.

"They did it." She simply said, walking off towards the med bay knowing full well he would follow.

Sure enough he didn't disappoint.

He followed her in, his jaw nearly dropping when he saw Ratchet checking out a revived Bumblebee. While the yellow bot's optics were still dim, it was obvious he was awake.

"Holy-" Bryan started, only to be cut off by Kasey. "I know!"

He looked at her before looking up to Ironhide. "Did anyone tell Sam yet?" The black mech shook his head. "Not yet."

Bryan looked at Kasey. "Lets go get him." She nodded. "He headed off into town a little while ago with Mikeala. They took Sideswipe with them." She said, only to realize he was already heading for their patrol car.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sam sighed watching the world go by him as Sideswipe drove himself throw the city. It wasn't that he didn't want to be here with Mikeala, looking for a place to crash and have some fun. He was just more worried about Bumblebee.

Sam caught the red/blue flash and siren chirp of an unmarked police car behind them.

"Aw! I wasn't even speeding, honest!" Sideswipe whined as he pulled to the side of the road. Sam wasn't really paying attention until Kasey tapped his window which rolled itself down. "Hey kid." She said. "Head back to base. There is an update on the current situation that Optimus wants you to know about." She said simply, turning and heading back for their car.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Who cares." He whispered to himself as Mikeala allowed Sideswipe to turn himself around, starting back towards the Autobot base.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sam entered the base and looked around. The main hanger was completely empty. So empty that besides his own footsteps and breath, he could actually hear the ventilation system pushing freshly cooled air into the room.

He headed down the hall, trying his hardest to not look at the scorch marks in the hallway from the attack only a small time before. He didn't want to think about it.

Actually, that was a lie.

He did want to think about it. He just wasn't ready to face the facts as he thought them to be.

Sam sighed as he forced himself past the marks. He stuck his head in Optimus' office. Nothing.

The armory, Ironhide's favorite hangout. Empty.

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe's room. Nothing.

Finally he took a deep breath, standing outside Ratchet's Medical Bay. He knew what, rather, who was laying behind that large door. He just didn't want to go in.

He heard a few voices float through the door and into the hallway. He took a breath and stepped forward, the door hissing open as he stared into bay.

He was speechless.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile outside, Kasey had her cell phone pressed to her ear. A few routing calls and favors later had ensured Simmons would not be able to trace her call.

"_Who's this?"_

"Now, now, Mr. Simmons. Is that any way to great your new business partner?" Kasey was grinning to herself at her ability to keep her voice as smooth as it had been.

"_Shit… not you again."_

"Yes, me again." Kasey growled. "We want to see your base of operations."

"_What?! You're kidding right? Abso-fuckin-lutely not"_

"It wasn't a request Simmons." Kasey replied, the venom clear in her voice. "I want the location and I want it now. Or the next time you see the light of day, you'll be missing your head."

There was a pause on the other end. Before Simmons laughed at her. _"You wouldn't shoot me. You would draw too much attention to yourself."_

"Not quite. Do you remember a story in the news a few weeks ago? That twenty-two year old basketball player that just dropped dead during a live, televised game?"

In truth, the poor kid had actually died of a Brain Aneurysm as stated in the papers. But why not twist fact to fit her fiction?

"_That… that was you guys?"_

Kasey didn't answer his question. "Location. Now."

"_Fine."_ Simmons sighed, rattling off the location of his operations.

"We will be there in two hours. If you think you're going to pull some tricks while we're there, don't think we won't see it coming. See you later, Simmons."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Sit still!" Ratchet yelled. "If you keep moving you're going to injure yourself. Sit still!"

Sam couldn't believe his eyes. There was Bumblebee, sitting up on Ratchet work bench while the medic took his sweet time working the bot over. Checking systems, running scans - the works.

Upon seeing Sam, Bumblebee tried to shrug off the medic to get to his friend.

Sam didn't say a word, he was just staring blankly at the yellow Autobot before a huge grin crossed his face and he ran to the table and climbed up, wrapping his arms around the bot's large arm.

It was a scene worthy of it's own music score. At least that's how everyone except Ironhide saw things.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The metal detector beeped twice.

Once when Bryan walked through. The other time when Kasey followed.

The security guard was about to wand them when Simmons came running up. "They're fine. Leave them be." He told the guard, motioning for them to follow.

It was a long elevator ride to the basement level. Simmons shifted uncomfortably under the gave of Bryan and Kasey. Mostly Kasey.

The doors opened and he walked forward, the other two follow closely behind. He stopped at a set of stainless steel doors.

"What you are about to see, took a year of hard work to accomplish. Do not touch anything or speak to anyone. Are we clear?"

Kasey just glared at him. His so-called stone resolve crumbling.

"Right, well… anyway, here we go." He said, pushing the two doors open into a room full of computers and technicians.

Lucky for both Kasey and Bryan, years of hardship, and in Bryan's case, war, had made it so that even if they were shocked, they didn't appear so.

This came in handy upon seeing a figure laying on a metal table. The body was lifeless, limp. But that wasn't what shocked them. What had shocked them wasn't so much, what it was, but more - who - it was.

Laid out on the table, covered by lights and technicians, laid a lifeless body of a fallen comrade. A fallen friend.

Jazz.


	11. Pursuit Of: Identity

They sat in the car in dead silence.

Bryan was the first one to say anything the entire trip back towards the base. "Shit." He sighed. "How do you think we should tell them?"

"Should we even tell them yet?" Kasey wasn't joking around for once. Bryan glanced over at her in the passenger seat and didn't see the flames in her eyes, didn't see that spark.

It had been doused in water and left depressed and alone.

He knew how she felt.

"Of course we have to tell them. He was their friend - brother, even. It's not a matter of 'should' it's a matter of 'how'."

She sighed as he pulled down the dirt road towards the base, the rain starting to drizzle onto the windshield. "I… I'm not even sure if we should continue this operation anymore."

He pulled to a stop outside the base, putting the car in park and turning off the key. He studied her for a few seconds before whispering softly. "This one hit you hard, huh?"

She nodded. "I've seen," she laughed at herself. "so much shit in my life. But that is just beyond wrong… taking the body of a dead soldier - a dead friend - to manipulate those closest to him. It's…"

"Evil." Bryan finished for her, placing a hand on her shoulder and squeezing. "Simmons is an evil man, Kasey. You know that. It's going to be up to us - all of us, to stop him."

She sighed a little, nodding. "You're right." She looked over at him. "Thanks."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Optimus couldn't believe what he was being told. No one could.

The hanger was beyond silent. Only the soft sound of the rain hitting the roof.

"I'm leaving the decision up to you Optimus." Bryan finished. "We know where his base is and we have a basic layout. We can raid it, arrest him, and get Jazz's body back." He took a breath as he heard Ironhide's cannons making short work of a target in the shooting range. The black mech didn't hang around long after hearing the news.

"Or," Kasey picked up. "We can dangle him at the end of a string a little longer. Build a case and follow it as high up in the government we can. But…" She sighed. "If we do that, none of us can guarantee the body of your comrade won't be desecrated anymore than they already have."

Mei shook her head. "This entire thing is just fucked up." She whispered to herself, then speaking to Optimus. "What it comes down too is that you have two Black Operations teams at your disposal. Whatever you want to do, we'll listen to. You're in the driver's seat." She paused, glaring at Anna when the girl snickered.

"I'm sorry." She hissed through her teeth, trying not to laugh. "That was just a really poor choice of words on your part."

Mei sighed, her shoulders sagging.

All eyes were back on Optimus.

The leader was currently processing his options. He chose his next words carefully. "I need you to understand, we don't hold what is being done against your entire race." He started, thinking for a minute before continuing. "Between both teams, you all know more about how to handle these types of things on your planet better then I, or any other Autobot does. What do you think is the best course of action?"

"Your best bet?" Kasey asked. "Let us build our case. One of two things can happen this way. The first is that we get enough evidence to put Simmons away for the rest of his natural and un-natural life, up to and including the death penalty. The second, seeing as how he has already dug his grave, it's just a matter of tripping him to fall into it. It would take a little work, but it shouldn't be too hard to do." Kasey paused looking at Bryan.

He sighed. "The third option and the most likely? We follow the trail up to the top. Eventually whoever in the government who gave the okay for this whole thing is going to get antsy. With Me and Kasey breathing down his neck he'll want Simmons taken care of. Probably an assassination job."

"If that were to happen." Kasey added. "We would have to protect Simmons in order for him to stand trail for the crimes he has done against you guys, and testify about those in the government who authorized such actions."

"Which one makes him suffer the most?" Sam asked, looking between Bryan and Mei. Anna answered.

"Well, options one and three make it so that he gets to go to prison and dance with Bubba."

Optimus quirked an eyebrow.

"Sorry," Anna apologized. "Really bad timing and a really bad joke."

"Yah think?" Tyler snapped.

"No shit." Mei replied, rubbing her forehead.

"It's been a long day. Lets just get some rest."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Even though she had been the one to declare they called it a night, Mei found herself wide awake starring at the ceiling above her. She sighed, rolling over onto her side and closing her eyes, willing herself to sleep.

No such luck.

She pressed a button on her watch, the object bathing the room in an eerie indigo glow. The watch stating that it was 23:55. She sighed again. "Almost midnight. I'm normally fast asleep by now."

She sat up, tugging on a pair of shirts and tank top, heading for the main hanger. She shivered a little, the crisp night air bitting at her bones.

She rubbed her arms for a minute before finding what she was looking for. She wrapped the ace bandages around both her hands before landing her gaze on the punching bag.

Time to work off some steam.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_I'm in business of misery,_

_Lets take it from the top,_

_She's got a body like an hourglass_

_Tickin' like a clo-_

Anna rolled over, answering her cell phone.

"Yah?"

"_Hey, it's me."_

She sat up strait in bed, looking at her watch. "George? What's wrong? It's almost two in the morning!"

"_Nothing is wrong, love." _Her boyfriend replied over the phone. _"I have a surprise for you."_

She rolled her eyes, laying back down. "It better be dammed good, you woke me up really early for this."

Before he could answer she heard what sounded like a flight number being called out in the background. _"Yes, well. It's a good surprise. Why don't you come pick me up from the airport? I landed fifteen minutes ago."_

"Airport?" Anna echoed, thinking. "Which one?"

"_DT International."_

"What?!" She shouted, sitting up again. "You're here?!"

"_I had a business trip and I knew you were out here so I flew in a day early just to see my girl."_

Anna was ecstatic, but now there was a problem, everyone was asleep and she wasn't about to go through Bryan's things for his car keys. She thought for a moment before grinning, hopping out of bed. "I'll be there in half an hour."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Explain to me one last time, who are we picking up?"

Anna was simply grinning. Her boyfriend looking around for her as he stood at the doors of the airport. "That guy, right there." She pointed at George. "He's my boyfriend."

Sunstreaker revved his engine. "You brought me out of stasis for this?"

"Be nice. And quiet, he doesn't know you're an Autobot!" She hissed as George spotted her, waving as he walked over to the car. He opened the door at put his bags behind his seat. He sat down and leaned over, placing a kiss on her cheek. "Hey, I've missed you. What have you been up to all the way out here?"

Anna smiled, starting the car. "You know, getting into trouble here and there. Mei says 'Hi'… or at least she will when she wakes up."

"This is a nice car." George observed, grinning at her. "Who'd you steal it from?"

"No one!" Anna laughed. "Besides, this thing is a pain in the ass. Causes more trouble then I do."

George was about to respond when the radio kicked on.

_Hey (Hey) You (You)_

_I don't like your girlfriend_

_No way, No way_

_I think you need a new one_

Anna slammed her fist down on the dashboard, the radio going silent while the car's engine revved. "See what I mean?" She sighed. "Damn thing's falling apart at the seams."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Maria searched around the main hanger, opening random storage bins and containers.

"What are you looking for?" Bumblebee asked, watching her with some amusement.

"Garden hose." She simply replied, opening another container. Bumblebee pointed at one a few paces away. "It should be in there. That's where I saw Sam put it."

"Thanks." She replied, grabbing the hose and coiling it up on her shoulder. "Have you seen Ironhide?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Rise and shine!" Maria yelled, spraying a sleeping, but still handcuffed to the chair, Jeffery. The man sputtered, wiggling around in his seat to try and get away from the cold blast.

Maria turned off the water. "Thought you could use a shower." She said simply, putting the hose down. "Don't believe I've had the pleasure. Maria Sanchez. I'll be your interrogator today." She looked over to Ironhide's hologram. "And that over there is your worst nightmare wrapped up in a nice, and might I say, very handsome, package."

The mech quirked and eyebrow, but said nothing.

Maria pulled a chair away from the wall, sitting backwards in it in front of Jeffery. She reached out and slapped him in the face a few times. "Hey, wake up sun shine. It may not be your lucky day, but I need you awake for this."

Jeffery groaned out in aggravation and some pain.

"Good to see you're awake. Here's how the game is played. I ask a question, you answer a question. Simple. If you don't answer a question, or if you get it wrong, you'll be dealing with him." She said, pointing at Ironhide. "If you get it right, it's one more day we keep you away from harm. Violate these rules, and I'll kill you." She grinned a little. "Are you ready to play?"

Jeffery groaned again.

"Very good. First question: Who started your little project to attack the Autobots?"

When Jeffery didn't answer at first, Maria looked over at Ironhide. He pushed away from the wall, moving to stand behind Jeffery.

"It was me. I started the whole thing." Jeffery spoke slowly.

Maria shook her head. "No way. The entire program is way above your pay grade." She nodding to Ironhide, the weapons specialist placed his massive hands on both Jeffery's shoulders, applying a small amount of pressure.

"We shall try again. Who's idea was it to attack the Autobots?"

"I just said it was me!" Jeffery shouted, promptly moaning in pain when Maria brought her hand across his face.

"No yelling." She said, her tone hadn't changed. She looked at Ironhide who nodded.

Reaching down he broke, with his bare hands, the handcuff that tied Jeffery's right hand to the chair. He held the arm out strait, one hand on his wrist, the other at his elbow.

"I will ask a final time. Lie again, he'll brake your arm. And you won't be getting any medical attention around here."

"Do you know what _cruel_ and _unusual_ punishment means?" Jeffery hissed. "You're violating the very thing you aim to protect."

Maria growled at him. "You want to talk about cruel and unusual punishment to me?!" She yelled. If it wasn't for the fact that Ironhide had to keep a grip on the man's arm, he would have stepped back from her. "Try having your mind, your _body_ being taking over even thought you did absolutely nothing to deserve it! Trying attacking your family, your friends and having no control over your actions but remembering every last bit! Trying being in a coma that could not only take your life, but the lives of those around you. How _dare_ you talk to me about cruel and unusual punishment!"

Even after all that, he was grinning at her. She growled, un-holstering her pistol and pressing it to his forehead. "What's - so - funny?"

"You are." He stated. "You yell and scream at me like I'm going to tell you something if you do. Then you go off on some self-righteous speech like it's going to change me opinion." He was still grinning at her.

She whipped it from his face with the butt of her gun.

"You grin at me again, you die." She barked at him, holstering her firearm. She tossed a fresh set of handcuffs to Ironhide. "Secure him and meet me in the main hanger. I need to get a few things before we try this again."

And just like that, she left the room.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Grinning at me like that." Maria muttered, entering the main hanger. She looked at the small box in front of her, kicking it across the room. "Son of a bitch!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Hey! Language!" She heard Will shout from the doorway of the hanger. She looked up to see him and his wife, Sarah - who was covering the now, six years old, daughter's ears.

"Sorry." She sighed, sitting down. "It's been a long morning. Looking for Ironhide?"

The Captain chuckled at her. "Yah, Annabelle won't stop asking to see him."

"He'll be out in a few. He was helping me with our guest." She sighed, rubbing her temples.

Will took a seat next to her. "Want to talk about it?" He asked, grinning as he watched his daughter ask Ratchet every question the young girl could think of.

"Not really. He's sticking to his guns, I'll give him that. But it won't be long before we break him. Personally, I just want to burry him in the desert."

He laughed at her. "I know the feeling. Hopefully, when Bryan and Kasey go for the meeting tomorrow, they'll get some answers."

"Meeting?"

"They got in touch with Simmons again a little while ago. Tomorrow he's hosting a small meeting to introduce them too a few of the people he's in league with. Though no one seems to know just high up, or who, these people are."

"Nice." Maria grinned. "Maybe we'll be getting rid of our guest soon after all."


	12. Pursuit Of: Joker of Hearts

A/N: This chapter is simply a fill/suspense creator; in the way that it sets up the next chapter without me having to write some long introduction to go with it. Reviews were kind of low last chapter. I'd appreciate a little pick up - but I'll take whatever I can get.

"I'm really starting to get tired of this." Bryan sighed, looking out the car window as the rain came down all around them.

"What? Waiting?" Kasey asked, looking up from her book to look at him.

"No, the rain. It's been raining for nearly a week strait. And get this, next week's forecast predicts snow! I mean real snow! What the hell is up with this weather?" He snorted, pulling a pair of sunglasses from the visor, placing them on top of his head.

Kasey rolled her eyes. "What's so bad about snow? I kind of like it."

"It's not the snow that bothers me. It just doesn't belong here. This place is like a freakin desert all year round." Another snorting laugh. "And now snow."

"You know," Kasey began, grinning. "In action movies, the weather is an extension to the emotion of the scene."

He just stared at her. "Wow."

"What?" She asked, laughing a little.

"It just seems like you're always yelling at me about my action movie style. And here you are, comparing real life to a movie!"

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She sighed, stretching as best she could in the seat. "Any sign of our guys yet?"

Bryan shook his head. "Nope. You know, this would be a lot more interesting with Sideswipe here."

"Don't say it." Kasey growled. "Besides, we can't risk Simmons figuring out who he is and taking him over too. Right now, believe it or not, the twins are our trump card."

"Scary."

"I know."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"What are you doing?"

Ratchet had entered his workshop to find Mei sitting up on his work bench, legs crossed, eyes closed, and hands folded in her lap. His scans showed that her heat rate and breath rate were at relaxed levels and that brain activity had been reduced to just enough to sustain life.

Yet, she didn't look like she was in distress.

Ratchet was about to ask his question again when Maya walked in behind him. Seeing Mei, she rolled her eyes, disappearing for a moment before reappearing with a water balloon.

Ratchet watched with interest as the younger of the two girls, tongue stuck out the side of her mouth as she aimed, threw the water balloon at Mei.

Mei dispatched the object with a simple flick of her wrist when it came into range, countering Maya's attack in a swift movement.

Maya pressed her hand to her cheek, pulling it back to see a small speck of fresh blood.

"Playing cards again?" She asked, looking up at Mei was who now standing on the work bench, tucking a new playing card into her sleeve. "Better of not been the Ace of Spades."

Mei rolled her eyes, jumping off the table, landing on the ground with a soft thud.

"Nope, Joker of Hearts." She said, walking past Maya and into the main hall. Maya groaned a little, holding her hand to her cheek as she walked out of the medical bay, leaving Ratchet to ponder about what he had just watched.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bryan pressed the black barrel of the gun a little further into the other man's temple. Rolling his eyes as the man whimpered.

"Wuss." He said, holstering his weapon and taking a seat next to Kasey, looking at her. "He seriously can't expect us to work with these people! Most of them still live in their mother's basement eating Cheetos and sitting naked in their bean bag chairs!"

"Was that really necessary?" Simmons asked, rubbing his temples.

Kasey ignored the question. "Jeeze, Bry, I think you made the kid cry."

Bryan turned in his chair to see the 'man' he had been questioning sniffling behind him. He rolled his eyes, standing up and stepped within a foot of the other person, arms folded over his chest. "What? You're going to cry now?" More sniffling. "Why are you crying?!" Bryan yelled, startling even Kasey, though she had to hold back a laugh when Bryan started to over exaggerate a crying baby. "Wah! Wah!" He yelled at the not blubbering man. He shook his head. "Pathetic." He turned back to Simmons, holding his hand out behind him, motioning at the crying person. "I mean, really, Simmons, you couldn't do better? What about a first grader?"

"Now that was just mean." Kasey giggled under her breath.

"You say that," Simmons spoke a little uneasy after such a display. "But that 'kid' there is the one that we hired to write a program to be installed on N.B.E. 3."

"N.B.E. 3?" Kasey echoed. "What that silver one?"

"Precisely." Simmons nodded. "We plan to control him by the end of the week. We'll send him back to his friends to gather recon and soon enough, we'll have a whole N.B.E. army at our feet."

"Got it all figured out, huh?" Bryan asked, grinning, arms once again folded over his chest.

"Yes," Simmons nodded. "Tomorrow you will meet my most interested buyer. Try not to make him cry too, okay?"

"No promises." Bryan rolled his eyes.

Kasey was next. "Does this buyer have a name?"

"His name," Simmons started. "Is George-"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"_-Tunstall. I'm unable to get to my phone right now, so leave a message at the beep."_

Anna sighed, she hadn't been able to get a hold of her boyfriend all day. She left her fifth message.

"Hey, it's me again. Was wondering what you are up to. Just recovering from jet lag I guess. Oh well, call me back, okay? You got the number." She ended the call.

She tossed her phone unto the bunk, looking up at the ceiling. She turned her head when the door hissed open, giggling to herself when Maya walked in with two little butterfly stitches on her cheek.

"Ace of Spades again?" Anna asked, resting her head on her elbows.

"Joker of Hearts." She replied.

"Learn your lesson yet?" Anna asked, grinning. Maya simply shook her head.

"Of course not."


	13. Pursuit Of: Suspect

There was a crash and then a small gasp.

Bryan stopped mid-sentence to see Anna standing in the doorway, holding her left hand to try and stop the bleeding.

"Say that name again." She whispered, ignoring the wound.

"George Tunstall?" Kasey repeated, reaching for the first aid kit. "Why, do you know that person?" She questioned.

"He's…"

"He's her boyfriend." Mei answered, wrapping a wet cloth around her team mate's hand. She sighed a little, leading the girl over to the sink. "Jeeze, it'll have to be checked for glass. Go and see Ratchet."

Anna nodded numbly, walking away while Mei sat down across from Bryan and Kasey.

"George Tunstall is Anna's boyfriend. They've been going out for a while now."

"Boyfriend." Bryan said to himself. "We're fucked." He sighed, rubbing his temples.

"No, we are not." Mei stated firmly. "He doesn't know what she does nor what our current case is. As far as he knows, she is an Internal Affairs officer. She told him that currently she is down here working with me trying to bust a few cops in the local police department. He has no clue to her actual identity."

"Forgive me," Bryan said. "If I take that with a grain of salt. Do they live together?"

"Yes." Mei answered, raising an eyebrow.

"And she had no clue at _all_ that he was working to enslave the Autobots? That he was one of Simmons' highest bidders?!"

Mei didn't answer, she fiddled with her hands for a minute, trying to find the right words.

"As far as I'm concerned, she is compromised and off this case." Bryan stated, leaning back in the chair, crossing his arms. He was startled when Mei slammed both fists on the table.

"With all due respect, _friend_, that is not a decision you are able to make. I call the shots for _my_ team; and you'd do damn well to remember it."

"Alright, calm down." Kasey said, holding her hands out like she was going to separate them. "Look as it stands right now, we don't know what's going on with Anna and George. Mei, if you trust her, that's good enough for me. Now, our current problem is this. Simmons says that this guy is his highest buyer. That means that we need to put on a dog and pony show in order to stay in this game and keep Simmons where we want him."

"So what is your idea?" Bryan asked, looking over at her.

"I say we use one of our assets. We'll need someone who will be able to handle what we are asking of them."

"Fine, fine. But what _are_ we asking of them?" Mei asked, grinning a little.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"What? Absolutely not!" Ratchet yelled. "I will do nothing of the sort."

"I know you aren't happy about what we are asking, Ratchet. But you're our best bet. We can't use the twins for this because Simmons doesn't know about them, it's an unnecessary risk. He already knows about you, and either hasn't been able to figure out how to, or has been unable to hack you. It's a perfect plan." Kasey pled.

"My answer is still 'no'." The medical officer sighed, returning to his work.

Kasey looked to Bryan as if to say 'your turn'.

"Look, this is what it comes down to. Simmons' top buyer is having a meeting with him at his head base tomorrow. If we don't put on some sort of show, no matter how much Kasey threatens him and I glare at him, won't put us back at the top notch. Ratchet, if we don't maintain our rank on his playing field, this case is over. We'll have no where to go in order to collect evidence for the trial."

Ratchet set his tools down on the bench quietly, thinking for a moment.

"What do you need me to do again?"

"It's simple," Kasey began. "We're going to drive to his base tomorrow for the meeting and present you as our main exhibit. All you would have to do is follow our commands as if you were completely under our control."

"Isn't this a mission better suited for Barricade? They never hacked him either." Ratchet pointed out, glaring at Bryan when he snorted. "Do you really think he'd take orders from us?"

Ratchet sighed. "Point taken. Continue."

"Right," Kasey said. "While we were working our magic with the buyer at the meeting, you would be scanning the bases security systems and defenses and transmitting the data to Teresa and Maya. Maya is going to break into the base during our meeting. Hack the server mainframe from the inside and download any information she can find that we can use in court."

"Can't you hack their system from the outside?"

"Come on, Ratchet. You and I both know that it would leave a trace." Bryan said. "Besides, the search warrant we have issued says we have to do things the legal way. Doesn't say we have to knock on the front door. It just says we can't hack into anything."

Kasey nodded. "Look, Ratchet, you're the only one who can pull this off… can we count on you to help us?"

The CMO regarded the two in front of him for a moment before nodding. "Fine."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Alright, one more time Tyler. During the meeting we will ask you Ratchet's 'password'. Your response if you feel like everything is going okay is?"

"Alpha." Tyler said, nodding in confidence, gripping the laptop computer in his arms a little tighter.

"And if you feel like everything is about to hit the fan?"

"Omega."

Kasey nodded. "Good. What about you Ratchet, any second thoughts?" She asked, patting the steering wheel.

"I feel the same way I did yesterday. But then I keep reminding myself who it is I'm doing this for."

Everyone nodded, knowing full well who he was talking about.

The pulled to the main gate and Kasey beeped the horn.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Guards!" Simmons yelled, seeing Ratchet pulling into the main garage area.

Even with the weapons of Simmons' commando's pointed at them, neither Bryan nor Kasey flinched. "What," Kasey spoke clearly, like she was unaffected by the action. "Is the meaning of this?"

"You brought that thing here! An Autobot! I knew there was something wrong about you both!" Simmons yelled at her.

"Watch your tongue." She hissed. "And it's not as it seems. This Autobot is under our control."

"Prove it." Simmons hissed, Kasey nodded, turning to Tyler.

Tyler turned around to face Ratchet. "Robot." He commanded. "State your designation, rank, and serial number."

Ratchet transformed, keeping his arms at his side as he spoke like a robot would, instead of himself.

"Designation: Experiment Number Two-Seven-Seven-Three. Rank: Trial. Serial Number..." He rattled off a seventeen digit number they had discussed on the way there.

Simmons eyed the robot for a moment. "What did you do?" He asked Tyler, glaring at the undercover agent.

"I just built a kick-ass algorithm that doesn't hack him, it just reprograms his memory." Tyler stated proudly. Not because of the fact that he could do such a thing, but because he wasn't shaking under the glare of several gun toting guards.

Kasey rolled her eyes. "Anyway, if you ever pull a stunt like that again Simmons," Her hand rested on her holster. "It'll be your head."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Mei… what am I going to do?"

"Well, I guess for me the answer would be more of a question."

"Not funny." Anna growled.

"It wasn't a joke." Mei replied quietly. "You need to ask yourself. And I don't mean, what do you _think_ you'll be able to do. But rather what you _know_ you would be able to do." She paused. "Do you think, when you get down to it, would you be able to take his life, to save others?"

"Take his life?" Anna repeated slowly, looking up at her boss. "I don't know Mei, that's… that's a tall order."

"I know." She nodded. "But I need to know if you would be able to do it, Anna. I can't have it come down to the wire and have your freeze up. I need to know if you can continue with this case."

"I can." She nodded a few times. "I can do it."

Mei patted the girl on the shoulder. "Good, good. When you get to that moment, just think of him as another terrorist, not your ex-boyfriend."


	14. Pursuit Of: Jazz

Her lungs were burning while she ran for her life.

Mikeala had first noticed she was being followed when she had left the mall after meeting with Sam. Shortly after Mission City, Lennox has taught her how to spot a tail.

Mikeala had taken several streets that she didn't have to take in order to confirm the fact they were following her. The icing on the proverbial cake had been when she had stopped at a stop sign with her right turn signal on, only to take a quick left, causing the tires of her follower to squeal when they tried to catch up.

She had slammed the throttle on her bike, weaving through semi-heavy traffic on the speed bike, throwing it down onto the ground after she had entered a darkened alley way.

Now she was on her feet, running for all it was worth while she was trying to dial a number on her cell phone. She pressed the send key just as one of the men grabbed her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Barricade's engine screamed as he flew in and out of traffic. Siren at full blast, lights flashing franticly as he sped on.

It had surprised him when he had received an incoming transmission from Mikeala's cell phone. Hearing the girl's cries for help as he could hear the scuffle on the other end. He was quick to lock onto the phone's GPS locator, alerting the others to the emergency as he started off.

It was hard to admit for him, but out of all of the humans he was currently associated with, his 'favorite' was the girl, Mikeala. She was good natured, spunky, and didn't hesitate to 'put him in his place' when he allowed her to.

He sped through another intersection, hearing screeching tires behind him as he sensors told him Bryan and Kasey had joined up in Sideswipe, the Autobot sporting a portable siren and flashing lights.

The red Corvette kept pace with the former Decepticon, weaving in and out of traffic with him until they came upon the alleyway, finding Mikeala's bike tossed on the ground.

Bryan and Kasey were out of Sideswipe before the car had fully stopped, Barricade's hologram toting a nasty looking pistol as he lead the way into the alley, sweeping it with his sensors before lowering the gun.

"She's gone." He said, red eyes locked onto the slightly damaged cell phone laying on the ground.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Damn it!" Sam yelled, slamming his fist down on Bumblebee's hood; holding his hand when it throbbed in pain. Apologizing slightly when Bumblebee's engine rumbled slightly. "Why her?"

Bryan looked to Kasey before he sighed. "We don't know. Tyler is downloading voice samples from Barricade on who he heard in the background. If it's one of Simmons' guys, we'll know soon."

"And if it isn't?" Sam asked, looking up at him.

Mei answered from behind, having just slid a fresh clip into her pistol, cocking back the slide before letting it slide back into place. "If it isn't, then someone just seriously fucked with the wrong person."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tyler sighed, resting his head in his arms for a few seconds before turning blurry eyes back to the computer screen. "I've been searching every military, criminal, and INTERPOL database I can find to see if anything matches this voice. I can't find anything."

"Think it's possible Simmons' hired someone to take her? Someone unknown to the police?" Maya asked, sitting on the desk near him.

"Maybe…" He said quietly before looking over at her. "But who?"

"Well…" She began, eyes rolling to the ceiling in thought. "The Columbians are always looking for side jobs and there's too many of them to voice print. Last year they lost sight of that religious fanatic group 'The Spirit Sprites', and their god only knows how many kidnappings they performed. Hmm… God, there are so many street gangs and thugs to really know who he could have hired." She looked to Barricade. "Any ideas?"

The robot shook his head. Maya looked back at Tyler. "What about you?"

Tyler shook his head too, just as Devon walked into the room. "We're missing something." He said, tossing a DVD onto the table. "Play it."

Tyler slid it into the DVD-ROM drive of his laptop, opening the file and playing it back. "CDOT caught this on their traffic cameras." Devon stated, pointing at the lower left of the screen. "Wait… watch."

Sure enough, Mikeala's bike had it's right turn signal on before she took a rather violent left to get away from silver FBI looking Lincoln Town Car.

"Fuck." Maya whispered. "Secret Service?" She asked, looking at Devon. He shook his head, pointing at the screen. "Tyler, roll it back to where you can see the back of the car and zoom on the plates."

He did as he was told, a small window popping up on his screen, the car's license plate clearly visible. "That, my friends, is an 'F' series plate." He said, pointing out the tag number. "That right there is NSA."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Nation Security?" Mei asked, blinking. "You're shitting me right?"

"No." Devon replied, rolling his eyes. "I'd know those plates anywhere. She was grabbed by Nation Security. Which would explain why we couldn't voice print them, NSA doesn't log their field agents voices for fear of enemy hackers."

"So what do we do?" Sam asked, standing up from his chair, bandage wrapped around his hand.

"It's hard to see on the tape, but one of the guys in the car was on his cell phone. Tyler is trying to track it down."

"How long?" Sam asked again, taking a step forward.

"Well, depends on-"

"How. Long." Sam repeated, glaring at him.

"Twenty minutes. Hour at the most."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Can someone please get this thing off my windshield so I can transform?" Sideswipe growled. He was talking about a red and blue police light that had been suction-cupped to his windshield. His brother chuckled.

"Aw, don't be that way Sides. I thought you liked things sucking on your windshield."

"When I get a hold of you!" Sideswipe growled, rocking on his tires as Kasey reached in, plucking the light from the glass. "There." She sighed. "Stop whining."

"What was that thing plugged into anyway?" Sunstreaker asked as his brother transformed. The other mech leaned in, whispering something and Kasey watched Sunstreaker's eye widen. "What? No way."

Sideswipe nodded. Sunstreaker transformed into his car form, opening a door. "My turn!"

Kasey rolled her eyes, storing the lights in her bag before grumbling something about 'stupid robots'.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bryan tapped on the glass of the medbay doors, opening them when Ratchet told him to 'come in'. He looked up as the medic didn't look away from his work on Ironhide's right cannon.

Bryan waited a few minutes before Ratchet sat back, closing the access panel on Ironhide's arm. "There. Good as new. Take care of it this time." The medic sighed when the older mech grumbled about 'wear and tear'.

When Ironhide left, Ratchet turned to Bryan. "You needed something?"

"Yah, come on, Simmons called and wants to set up an emergency meeting. Something about 'product' he needs to move quickly and we're his favorite clients."

"Do you think he's going to do something with Mikeala?"

Bryan sighed. "Knowing that twisted freak? Probably."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mikeala groaned when she woke up, feeling her head throb slightly from the sedatives they had force fed her.

She rolled onto her stomach, bracing herself as she got onto shaking legs, hissing in pain as she realized she had injured her ankle. She limped to what looked like a door, pressing her ear to it.

Unable to hear anything, she sat down near it, wrapping her arms around herself, looking around the darkened room, her eyes still not adjusted enough to see anything.

"I hope they got my message." She whispered to herself. Leaning back and hoping for the best. Even though she had sent it to Barricade, she knew that they would do everything in their power to save her… if only…

Her thoughts were interrupted as the door was opened violently.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Remember," Kasey said softly as they pulled to a stop outside Simmons' base. "No matter what happens, stay in character unless we say otherwise." She said, patting Ratchet's steering wheel. The Autobot rocked on his suspension a little to tell her he understood.

She stepped out, glaring at Simmons. "What did you want?"

"I wanted to show you something." He said proudly, hand on a sheet covering what looked to be a sports car. He pulled the sheet away, revealing a silver Porsche 911 Turbo. Bryan held back his impressed whistle.

"Alright, congrats, you have a hot car. Total babe magnet." Kasey rolled her eyes. "I don't see how that qualifies as a reason to call us."

Simmons shook his head. "That is why I'm the brains and you're the check book."

Kasey rolled her eyes again when Simmons took a step away from the car. "Transform." He commanded, looking at the car.

At first, nothing happened, but soon after, metal shifted, gears whirled, metal clanked, and standing before them, was a resurrected Jazz. Or at least his body.

"Meet N.B.E. number three." Simmons stated, looking back proudly at Kasey and Bryan.

While their faces looked impressed, silently, they were horrified.

Bryan was the first to speak. "How'd yah do it?"

"When we hacked the Autobots, we also studied how the worked. Found out that their life force, their so called soul, was nothing more than a serious energy charge. All I had to do was use this." He said, holding up a piece of what appeared to be a metallic object.

"And what's that?" Kasey asked, already knowing the answer.

"It's a piece of that cube thing. We found another part of it logged in N.B.E. one's chest before we dropped it into the ocean."

"So you created a Transformer?" She asked, walking around Jazz's standing body.

"Correct. Now what this." He said, motioning to one of the guards who flipped a switch.

Jazz turned back into a car when Simmons commanded him to, revving his engine like an angry drone. The wall in front of him slid back to reveal a long hallway, a quarter of a mile, Kasey estimated.

At the end of it was a very scared and confused Mikeala.

Almost on cue, Bryan's cell phone rang.

"_We're not really going to let this happen are we?"_ Ratchet's voice came over his headset when he pressed the phone to his ear, excusing himself from the meeting.

Bryan sighed a little. "No, I didn't order any food from there." He replied, hoping Ratchet caught on.

"_So what are we going to do?"_

"Take it back to the store. I'll pay for it later."

Bryan was about to say more, when Jazz took off.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mikeala screamed, seeing the car from racing at her. She knew she couldn't run with her ankle in it's current state. She closed her eyes and found herself pray before she could realize it.

Screeching tires were herd and she kept her eyes closed tightly, wishing for a painless end. She braced herself for the feeling of a car slamming into her, but it never came. A simple wind was as she felt and she opened her eyes to see the car a few inches from her face, the passenger door wide open with the engine revving.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bryan and Kasey held back their breath hearing the tires squeal at the end of the hallway, unable to see if Mikeala had been hit or not.

To his credit, Ratchet didn't move.

Kasey forced an evil grin onto her face. "Excellent. It's like an advanced killing ma-"

She stopped speaking mid-sentence, hearing the loud engine revving at the end of the hallway. She was about to say more when she heard the tires again, she looked back at the hallway, seeing the sports car go racing up the hallway, pulling a drift turn as it took off heading for the main garage, busting through the large metal door and taking off.

Kasey grinned to herself before turning it to a glare when she looked at Simmons. "What - the - fuck - just happened?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mikeala's heart was racing when she crawled into the car, it's door closing behind her as it took of down the hallway at great speed. She ducked below the dash board when it went through the garage door.

It wasn't until they hit the city limits she spoke.

"Thank you so much for not killing me." She gasped out, sitting up in the seat and looking around. "Who are you?"

The car's engine just revved like it was laughing at her.

"I'm surprised you don't recognize me. I know he gave me a little upgrade, but I still hold my style." The radio replied, the style and tone in which it spoke grabbed her attention.

"No way." She said, jaw nearly hitting the floor.

"Miss me?" The car replied, rocking on it's suspension a little as it weaved in and out of the small amount of traffic just before hitting the desert.

"Jazz!"


	15. Pursuit Of: Base Assault Part 1

Ironhide charged his cannons when the silver Porsche pulled to a stop in the main hanger, though they were quickly lowered when Mikeala climbed out, holding herself up with the door frame.

"Mikeala!" The black mech stated before looking over his shoulder. "Prime! Bumblebee!" He called.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

By the time Ratchet, Kasey, and Bryan arrived back after trying to cover their asses with Simmons, everyone was crowded around Jazz, welcoming him back and asking what they could do.

Ratchet transformed, motioning to Jazz. "You - medical bay - now." He said simply, walking away.

Bumblebee whistled our grinning. "Ratchet says 'hello' too."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm fine Doc Hatchet. No reason to be running all these tests." Jazz complained, raising up one of his hands to look at the wires hanging off of it and running to a computer.

Ratchet tapped the screen a few times, sighing. "I know. I just can't believe it." He turned around, setting his large hands on the desk. "I can't believe they succeeded where I had failed. I can't believe they brought you back… I feel like I failed you."

Jazz pulled the wires from him and disconnected an oversized USB cable before hopping off the table, putting a hand on Ratchet's shoulder. "You didn't fail me Ratchet." He said firmly. "You did everything you could think of. We're all outside our element on this planet, it'll take some time to learn." He said simply, locking eyes with the medic. "Besides, they had a sliver of the All Spark. You didn't." He added, patting Ratchet's shoulder before giving him a nod, heading off for the main hanger.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jazz stood in the main hanger in silent awe of how things had changed since his… _incident_ in Mission City.

It had been a twist of fate really. Simmons had tried to revive him, thinking it would be instant, not understanding that it would take half an hour for systems that hadn't been activated in ages to be turned online.

It was luck.

If he had been instantly online, he wouldn't have heard the plan. Wouldn't of known what was going on. Would have been offlined by the evil human when he realized that he had brought back Jazz instead of just giving new life to an old body.

Instead, when Jazz finally had come back online, he overhead a few of the techs talking and instantly knew what was going on. He knew what he had to do.

He was ready to break out until he recognized a life sign. And his plans changed.

Now he stood in the Autobot base, with Barricade; no less. The silver bot decided to see if he was still as flexible as he had always been. It had started with a simple leg stretch. Feeling comfortable that he wasn't going to break anything Ratchet couldn't fix, he tried to sweep his leg out almost like he was trying to drop an imaginary opponent.

He grinned to himself when he realized he didn't feel stiff. So he tried to do one of his favorite moves. Half way through he stopped, groaning. "Alright," He sighed to himself. "One step at a time, I guess…"

He decided that he would work on things later. For now, he would go and look for Ironhide.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Our case is really, really, really, really fucked." Maya groaned, looking up when Mikeala cleared her throat. "For a good cause." Maya added, smiling a little.

"Right, so now what?" Mei asked, looking around the group.

"Do we even attempt to go back there and act like we don't know what happened?" Kasey asked, looking to Bryan for an answer. He simply shook his head.

"Won't work. Simmons is crazy, but he's smart; security conscious. No, we need a new edge."

Maria snapped her finger. "Raid his base." She said proudly before scowling at blank stares. "Do I have to explain everything? Fine. Look, he'll see us coming from a mile away, sure, so he'll try and pack up shop and run. That works to our advantage."

"I'll bite." Devon replied, sighing. "How?"

"Oh I get it!" Maya yelled out, nodding. "You can do the same action a thousand times, but do it too fast and your bound to make a mistake! I get it! We make him move fast, he's bound to leave something behind!"

"Right," Maria said, then added. "And if we keep him running long enough, he's bound to slip up. And when he does-"

"His ass is ours." Mei said, looking to Bryan and Kasey. "Lets make it work."

"Agreed. I'll call Teresa in. We'll need some backup for this one."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"It is good to have you back." Ironhide said, cooling down his cannons after shooting practice with Jazz. The silver mech nodded. "It's good to be back."

"While it was hard to tell," Ironhide began. "I think out of all of us, Bumblebee was most effected by your… 'incident'."

"I figured he would be." Jazz replied, taking aim and firing a single shot. "Kid used to think of me like the cooler uncle."

Ironhide chuckled. "That's what you think."

Jazz smirked, looking over at the weapons specialist. "Oh really?" He asked, lowering his weapon. "Who do you _really_ think started the plot with Bee and the twins to paint you that lovely color of pink, yellow, and green two hundred years ago?"

"That was you!?" Ironhide sputtered, blinking a few times.

"Yup." Jazz said simply, turning for the door. He was about to bid farewell when Ironhide tackled him from behind, wrestling around for a few minutes before pinning Jazz to the ground.

"Now that I know." He said, air intakes working to cool down his systems after the scuffle. "I can plan my revenge." He smirked, allowing Jazz up.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Alright, this is the basic layout of the base." Kasey said when everyone was seated. "Special thanks to Ratchet for this one." She said with a giggle before turning back to the 3D hologram of Simmons' base. Currently, it only showed the walls and rooms of the base.

"Garage level," Kasey began, Ratchet took the prompt and moved the hologram to fit the current brief. "has medium security. Guards dressed in black with the words 'security' printed on them. These guys are likely to give up if we go in heavy. While there are about ten of them on at any one time, seeing giant robots and us armed with rifles and shotguns, they're likely to lay down their pistols and surrender without a fight. Oh, and local police will be holding any prisoners we take while on the raid." She nodded to Bryan who looked over at Ratchet before looking at the screen.

"First floor." He started. "Only access points here are two stair cases on either side of the building and a central elevator then runs up the length of the building. Since the elevator is under their control, I'm obviously recommending that we use the stairs." Hearing a sigh from Maya he looked at her pointedly. "Anyway, guards on the first floor are a little more heavy then the garage crew. This guys, as far as we saw, were armed with pistols and short range sub-machine guns. Looks like their personal favorites were MP5s and MP9s. Didn't see any flack jackets, so body shots should do."

"Level two." Kasey picked up, again the image moved. "Close inspecting here shows that this floor houses more security then most of the others. The reason being that this floor houses their main server. Which is also why we couldn't get to it originally, it wasn't on the top or bottom floor. Team B will clear this out and then start downloading information from the servers. Team A will keep moving to the next floor."

"Third floor will be our toughest. It has the top-brass security. Most of these guys were from Sector Seven. This floor houses the technician's labs as well as where they were working on Jazz. The freight elevator in the middle of the building is how they access this floor and the others. While this floor is fairly open because of the work being done here it is also they most heavily guarded. Guards here are carrying anything from pistols, to shotguns, SMGs, and I even caught one guard with a M16 rifle slung over his back." Bryan finished looking down at some papers before him, allowing Kasey to continue.

"Fourth floor houses their offices. This includes Simmons' as well as his three Captains. Also houses the armory as well as the first of two security rooms. Guards here seem to only carry pistols, but with that armory near by, it'll be a nasty firefight if they can get to it."

"Fifth floor," Bryan began. "Is only a clean room floor. White walls, white suits, the whole nine yards. Looks like this is where Simmons is producing his computer chips and the likes while studying whatever he can get from you guys. We should be able to lock down this floor to keep the techs inside until we can sort things out. Security here was simply two rotating guards with SMGs. They look like ex-military, so be on your guards."

"Sixth and final floor." Kasey began, hands on her hips with a sigh when the image appeared. "This, my friends, is a total 'shit-hitting-fan' situation. From what Ratchet's scans could pick up, every single square foot of this floor is dedicated to the security of the building. Guards are required to check in on rotation every half hour. Systems monitor their every step and their heart rate. And it gets ever better," She said, "The system itself is secluded from the rest of the building's network. In fact, that system has no outside line what-so-ever. And with their data shield in place, it's completely unhackable without being in the room with it."

"However, that is a slight downfall for Simmons. Since the system is separate from the rest of the building, we'll be able to take it down without alerting the rest of the building. Problem here is, how do we get in?" Bryan asked the group, looking around.

Mei studied the layout for a moment. "You said that the freight elevator runs up the entire length of the building, right?" She looked to Bryan who nodded. "Which means it also runs to the sixth floor. There has to be an access panel on the roof of the building. If we can get in there we can override the motor control on the elevator and bring it to the top floor."

"I see where you're going with this." Maya picked up. "Bring it to the top and hop in the emergency escape hatch at the top of the elevator. Open the doors manually and slip in a few knock out gas bombs. With thirty seconds and that building is practically ours."

Bryan nodded. "Barricade, since you known the police frequencies well, think you would be able to isolate the frequency that Simmons' security is using and pipe it in strait to the teams?"

Barricade nodded. "I can do it."

"Excellent." Mei grinned.

Bryan nodded. "Here's the teams. Team A, who will be entering through the garage with team B will be Me, Will, Devon, and Maria."

"Team B will be me, Tyler, and Teresa." Kasey said, looking each person in the eye.

"Right, so that leaves Team C, which will hack the security room." Mei said. "Me, Maya, and Anna."

Kasey, Bryan, and Mei looked to Optimus who nodded. "We will assist any way we can."

"The only thing we might need," Kasey stated. "Is a quick exit if things get hairy. Think you guys can make a big enough hole to get us out in one shot?"

Mei chuckled to herself turning around. "I have to make a call to get an Army chopper ready to go. We'll be parachuting to land on the building without setting off the alarms."

She started walking away when Sam stopped her. "I want to help."

"It's too dangerous." She stated, pulling her arm from his grasp. "You don't have any training."

"But I want to help, it's my fight too." He pleaded.

Mei looked to Bryan and Kasey for an answer. "I know what he could do." Bryan spoke up, looking from Sam to Bumblebee. "Obviously Simmons is going to make a run for it as well as his Captains. Bumblebee, Sam, and Ironhide could follow them long enough to get a tracker placed on their cars."

Mei looked to Sam who nodded, content with the answer.

"Good."

"Ratchet and Barricade will stay at the building with the police, listening into the security frequency and patching up any wounds we take on. And Optimus can help us keep track of who's where."

"What about me?" Jazz spoke out quietly.

All eyes were on Optimus who sighed a little, turning to place an oversized hand on his friend's shoulder. "I would feel better if you stayed here."

"But I want to help too!" Jazz argued, shrugging away Optimus' hand.

"You just came back online. You need time to get used to-" Ratchet tried to reason, but was quickly cut off again.

"I want to help." Jazz repeated, ignoring the glare from the medic. Again, all eyes were on Optimus.

The leader considered his options for a moment before nodding. "Alright, you can work with Ironhide and Bumblebee to track down any of Simmons' escaping men."

"Now that that's settled." Maya prompted. "When does our assault start?"

"As soon as our plane arrives." Mei replied, already walking away. "Gear up."


	16. Pursuit Of: Base Assault Part 2

Bryan chuckled to himself, finding it quite amusing that yet again, life had taken another action movie style twist.

Aiming at the ground of the APC, he checked his sights again, making sure he was loaded and that he was ready to go. The convoy came to a halt just around the corner from Simmons' building. Out of the sight of any of his security guards. They were waiting for Mei's signal.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The wind whipped past Mei as she and her team zoomed from the sky down towards the target roof. The alarm on her wrist told her it was time to pull her parachute.

She aimed herself just right as she released the parachute, gliding down to the rooftop before cutting herself free, locking eyes with Anna and Maya before pulling her silenced MP5 from it's strap, clearing her way towards the nearest roof hatch, covering the other two as the worked to pick it's lock.

Once it was open, Anna slipped inside.

She quickly found the elevator motor, using a pair of wire cutters to quickly cut and reroute the main power line, causing the elevator to move up. When she had lined it up with the sixth floor doors, she cut the power all together, allowing everyone to slip into the darkened elevator.

Mei slid the door open just enough to stick a fiber optic camera under it, Maya looking at her screen to see who was where.

"I've got eight guards." She whispered. "Five at camera monitor stations, three walking the floor."

Mei nodded at Anna. "Three should do it." She whispered, handing the girl three small disks.

Anna held her breath for a moment before sliding the first disk under the elevator door, aiming the second just right she slid it under next, and the third she aimed off to the right just as Mei allowed the door to close all the way.

It only took a few seconds to hear eight bodies drop to the floor.

Mei gripped, opening the elevator door all the way, pulling Anna and Maya into the room with them. "Ladies, this building is ours." She said, reaching for her radio to contact the other teams.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"_We're in. Go, go, go!"_

Several sirens sounded and tires squealed as the entire convoy rounded the corner. The pistol toting guards quickly dropping to the ground upon seeing M4 and S8 rifles pointed in their directions.

It was easy to clear out the garage, each team taking a separate stairwell to get to the next first floor. "Garage clear!" Bryan yelled into his radio as he kicked in the heavy metal door to the first floor. Ducking back into the stairwell as he was met with gunfire.

When Kasey's team kicked their door in, Bryan's entered the room. Effectively pinning Simmons' guards down in the middle of the room.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Simmons was already running for it by the first sounds of sirens. He knew he was busted, and he knew he had no choice. He quickly opened a secret door that led to an adjacent parking garage, getting into his car and speeding away.

He made it a quarter of a mile down the road before he spotted a yellow Camaro following him. He cursed himself for not spotting it sooner.

He started to weave in and out of traffic, the Autobot keeping a steady pace as Sam leaned out the window, aiming some sort of pistol at Simmons' car. He fired once before Bumblebee pulled back, waiting for Sam to get back into his cab before he pulled a one-eighty and took off back for the base.

Simmons breathed a slight sigh of relief, but he also knew better than to think he had gotten away free just yet.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mei, Maya, and Anna were too involved with watching the firefight on camera to hear the trap door behind them slide softly open.

The only actual clue that something was wrong was a small gasp and a muffled yell from Maya.

Mei and Anna whipped around, weapons drawn and pointed at their attacker.

"George." Anna gasped slightly, but her weapon didn't lower a bit.

"Hey sweetie." George replied, grinning at her as he pressed the barrel of his gun a little deeper into the base of Maya's neck. "Sorry it took me so long to return your call. I was a little busy taking over the world and all that fun stuff."

Anna growled. "You used me."

George chucked. "Guess I did. Must make me look like quiet the bastard, hmm?"

"_Third floor is clear."_ Mei heard Bryan say over the radio.

"Quite." Anna replied, tightening her aim.

"Oh what, you're going to shoot me now?" George sneered at her. "You couldn't shoot me. I've got you wrapped around my middle fucking finger."

"Oh, you are going to hell in so many religions." Mei mused, locking eyes with Maya. The girl winked at her before doing the same to Anna.

Mei snapped her hand up, taking her aim off George, just as Maya shifted her weight enough to pull George off balance, snapping her head up to catch him just under the chin and throw him back, throwing herself to the floor as Anna fired two shots.

Everything went silent.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bryan looked around at his team, Kasey's had remained on the second floor to tap the mainframe. He looked at Will who simply nodded as they were all huddled outside the fifth floor doors.

"Bring back memories, Captain?" Bryan asked, taking the moment to take a drink from his water bottle to calm his nerves.

"More than I wanted." Will replied, tossing Bryan a grin before looking over at Devon and Maria. "What about you two? You fight well. Something tells me this isn't your first CQB."

"Not at all. I've been fighting this stuff for years at home." Maria said, whipping some sweat from her forehead. Devon nodded. "Spent a few years working Metro SWAT in LA. This is a lot more intense then that ever was, but the basics are the same."

"Basics?" Will asked with a chuckle.

"Yah," Devon replied. "Like Daddy always said. Walk softly and carry a big gun."

"Really?" Bryan grinned, reloading his weapon after seeing he was low. "My Dad always used to ask me if I was crippled and deaf."

"Your dad was an asshole." Maria said, grinning at him.

"No argument." Bryan replied, standing up and looking at the door. "Ready for the final round?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Maya rubbed her neck a little, looking up at Anna who was panting slightly, her whole form moving with her breaths. The girl holstered her weapon, walking up to him and landing on her knees.

Mei was standing behind Maya when she stood up. "You alright?"

"Yah." Maya said simply, watching Anna.

"Go and restore power to the elevator. We'll need an access point for the locals to come in and move bodies around." Mei said softly, Maya nodded, heading off for the elevator. Mei closed the gap between her and Anna, now standing behind the semi-sobbing girl.

"Five years." Anna said quietly. "Five of the best years of my life... were all a lie."

Mei sighed, putting a hand on Anna's shoulder, but the girl still didn't move. Mei was about to say something, but Will's voice came over the radio.

"_Man down, man down! Fifth floor, need a med-evac!"_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bryan ducked for cover. The guards had hit the armory before they had had a chance to stop them, and now they were all pinned by automatic gunfire. Bryan pressed his back to the wall, reloading his M16 before popping out long enough to take shots at whoever was in his sights.

Will was doing the same tactic with his M4, taking careful aim before letting off a three round burst. He took up cover when bullets rattled the air that he had filled a few seconds before.

It would appear that out of the three friendly guns he heard firing, Maria was the only one actually hitting her marks. And that's where he stopped himself. Three? He counted his, the sound of Will's M4 and the sound of Maria's HK. He didn't hear Devon's XM8.

He looked over to see Devon's foot sticking out from his cover point. "Shit." He cursed under his breath. "Will!" He called, drawing the Captain's attention. Bryan held up two fingers, point at his eyes before point at Devon's spot. Will nodded, poking his head out long enough to see behind the desk Devon had taken cover behind.

Will look back at Bryan with a grim look on his face.

Bryan patted his own head once with his right hand, checking his rifle before popping out from cover, firing burst rounds and forcing the remaining guards to duck for cover while Will half ran and half slid to Devon's spot.

Arriving he kept his head down and pulled out his Med Kit. He looked at Devon who had his hand pressed to his chest and he was gasping for air. "Man down, man down. Fifth floor, need a med-evac!" He called into his radio before pulling things for his kit.

"Hold on Dev." He said. "You're alright, you're alright."

He started working on Devon's wound. It was a single rifle shot that hit just to the right of his heart. _Shit._ Lennox cursed inwardly, knowing from his field triage training that a wound that was near the heart and had hit a lung was extremely difficult to treat without a full medical staff - which, right now - he didn't have.

He worked anyway, even long after the gunfire had ceased and just as the building rumbled from Optimus making an escape route.

xxxxxxxxxx

"How did we do?" Kasey asked softly as she stowed her gear away in Ironhide's truck bed. Bryan shook his head. "Between Bumblebee, Ironhide, and Jazz, we were able to tag four vehicles fleeing the scene. One of which belonged to Simmons. Fourteen out of what had to be fifty guards surrendered, including the ones that Mei's team knocked out we have twenty-two in custody, the rest are all dead or wounded."

"Any casualties on our side? I heard Will call an officer down."

"Devon." Bryan said quietly. "Took a shoot that hit a major artery and a lung. He half near suffocated to death before the medics could get him out. He's on his way to Saint Judith's right now, but... it doesn't look good."

"Fuck." Kasey swore, throwing her arm pads into the truck a little harder then she intended, one of the hard plastic casings hitting the truck's window. "Sorry Ironhide." She apologized when the truck rumbled.

Teresa walked over with Tyler's computer, showing a screen full of data. "We didn't do too bad. I've got everything from Swiss bank account numbers to contact information. We'll sort out everything later. How is Devon doing?"

xxxxxxxxxx

Mei gripped her teammate's hand as they rode in the back of an Ambulance being led to the hospital by Barricade. Even at the high speed of travel, she knew it was going to be too little, too late.

Devon's eyes hadn't left hers from the moment he knew what was going to happen. He just kept looking at her while taking shallow and shuddering breaths. She was surprised to see absolutely no fear in his eyes. Which was odd for her, she knew that even the most brave soldier had at least a little fear in their eyes when they died.

Everyone feared death.

But still, he seemed happy with how things turned out. He reached up and pushed the paramedic's hand away when he tried to insert a breathing tube into his mouth, shaking his head as best he could.

"No." He rasped out. Closing his eyes for a moment Mei could feel him slipping away.

"It was fun Major." Devon whispered softly, the small sentence nearly taking up all the air in his one good lung, but it also pushed some of the blood that had seeped into his wounded lung into his mouth, causing him to cough violently for a moment. "I have," he started, pulling his hand from hers and with a groan, he pulled the dog tags from his neck. "I have," he started again "no regrets."

Mei held her breath when she heard the dog tags hit the floor of the ambulance, even over the loud siren from it and Barricade, the sound was deafening to her. She closed her eyes and bowed her head in a silent prayer, chocking back a small sob when she reopened her eyes to see that he had passed.

Mei reached out and pressed her blood covered hand to his eyes, closing them as the ambulance's siren was turned off. She sighed heavily, leaning back on the wall behind her as she closed her eyes, trying to forget the image burned into her mind.

The image of Devon dying with a smile on his face.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Maya placed the phone down on the desk, not caring that all eyes were on her.

The phone call had been from the hospital's main line. The speaker had been Mei, the news had been... expected.

Instead of saying the words they all expected, Maya simply picked up the phone and gripped it for a moment before suddenly turning around and throwing it at the nearest wall, heading outside of the base to grieve.

It didn't have to be said for them to all know the truth of the day's events.

And what was worse, is that they all knew better than to think it was over.


	17. Pursuit Of: Anna

Mei didn't even pretend that she was driving while Barricade rolled through city streets while actually doing the speed limit. She just kept her eyes plastered on the steering wheel and sighed every once and a while.

"What a mess." She whispered to herself, looking up for the first time when she realized Barricade had rolled to a stop a few moments before.

She looked around, seeing that she was at some sort of 'off the path' scenic overlook. She was about to ask why they were there when Barricade's door swung open. She got out, watching as he transformed and sat on the grass next to her.

"Why are we here?" Mei asked, looking up at him.

"The other humans seem to enjoy this spot in depressing times." He replied, falling silent for a moment when she nodded her thanks. "He was... a friend?" It was more of a statement then a question, she knew, but she answered regardless.

"A very good friend, yes."

"But he was also a soldier." He replied, eyeing Devon's dog tags which now hung from her neck.

"Through and through." She answered quietly, before sitting with her back to his bulky legs. "It just doesn't seem real right now."

"I have seen many deaths during my war." Barricade said. "Even for soldiers I wasn't close to, it is a difficult thing to deal with."

"Do you guys think of the same things we do, when one of yours goes down?" Mei asked.

"What is it that you think of?"

"Mostly things like 'why wasn't it me' or 'I could have done more'."

"Grief and grieving is a process all species go through."

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." Mei said, closing her eyes. "I could only image how the others are. Maya was closer to Devon then I was, practically cousins those two."

"His death will be tough on everyone. But as a leader you must-"

"I know what I have to do!" Mei snapped before she could stop herself. "Sorry." She apologized quietly. "I didn't mean to yell."

Barricade didn't say anything at first. "It is okay. But I was going to say that as their leader you must grieve with them and stop before them."

"I know," Mei replied, standing up. "I know. Lets get back Barricade, they'll be wondering where I am."

xxxxxx

"Hey have you guys seen Anna anywhere?" Maria asked when she re-entered the main hanger after going out to comfort Maya. Everyone shook their heads, but didn't answer vocally.

Maria shrugged her shoulders a little, heading down the hall into what was the brig, which is where they had been holding Jeffery. She was going to give him some water and a small amount of food when she realized he was gone.

"Shit." She cursed, running back for the hanger. "Anna's gone and so is Jeffery!"

"She wouldn't." Tyler started, looking at Maya when she came back in.

"She would after today."

"So what do we do?" Maria asked, looking to Maya since Mei had yet to return.

"We think. Anna is obviously distressed... but Jeffery isn't the cause..."

"She's sending Simmons a message." Bryan stated, reaching for his car keys. "She's going to kill Jeffery to send Simmons a message."

"What?!" Half the room yelled at the same time.

"She's going to need a place where she'll attract attention, but allow her to get away after she's done." Bryan said, looking from Kasey to Maya.

"Grand Central Post Office." Lennox stated, "It's got CCTV camera posted all around the building along with a roof access ladder at the back. There's another access inside the building, so if she's looking to really make a scene, she'd go in through the front, right?"

"Right." Maya said, eyes going wide suddenly. "Shit, she's going to blow this whole operation wide open."

xxxxxx

Anna kept her death grip on Jeffery's handcuffs as she tapped her free hand on the glass door. An older man looked up at her, slowly making his way to the door to open it.

During that time she had reached behind her, grabbing her pistol from her waistline. As soon as the older man was at the door telling her to 'come back tomorrow' she had her pistol pressed to the glass.

The janitor was quick to put his hands up and doing as he was told to when she commanded he opened the door and allowed her access to the roof.

Once out of her gun sights, he was quick to dial 911.

xxxxxx

"Will was right!" Teresa called as she ran into the hanger. "Dispatch just received a emergency call about a woman who has a man at gunpoint at Grand Central. It gets worse, she's on the roof with the gun to his head and SWAT has already be called."

"Shit." Bryan cursed, looking around the room. "What are you waiting for? Lets go!" He yelled, already running for his car, as soon as Kasey was in and had shut the door, they were speeding off, the others in tow.

xxxxxx

_Are you blind?_

_Blind to me; trying to be kind?_

_Volunteering for you firin' line,_

_Waiting for one precious sign,_

"This is so not good," Maya whispered when she stepped from the car, looking up at the rooftop of the building she saw Jeffery on his knees, Anna behind him with her pistol drawn and pointed at the back of his head.

Maya reached into the car, reaching for the microphone to the car's PA system just as Ratchet pulled to a stop behind them, a few more of the others stepping out.

"Anna get down from there! You don't know what you're doing!"

_The flicker of a smile,_

_You should try it just once in a while,_

_Maybe it's not quite your style,_

_Simply to easy to do,_

_You might not see it through,_

_See it through,_

It almost seemed like Anna was waiting for something. Maya was growing more and more worried by the second as she searched the area around her for what the answer could be. Her attention snapping to her left when she heard tires screech and Barricade come to a fast halt, Mei already out of the cop car before he was at a full stop.

_Oh, oh, so,_

_Find yourself,_

_Another place to fall,_

"What the hell is going on?" Mei ask when she was within hearing range of Maya.

"You're guess is as good as mine. Bryan things she's trying to send Simmons a message."

Mei's eyes went wide when she realized what Anna was waiting for. "News vans!"

_Find yourself,_

_Up against another brick wall,_

_See yourself,_

_As a fallen angel,_

"We need to end this before the News crews arrive!" Mei told everyone when they had crowded around Bryan's squad car, curious glances cast at the rooftop while they worked to find a way to get Anna and Jeffery down in one piece.

_Well I don't see no holes in the road,_

_But you, found another place to fall,_

Up on the rooftop, Anna was grinning madly as she watched cops from city wide cordon off the area and try and talk her down. Sidetracked only for a moment when Maya spoke up to her, but she quickly reminded herself what she needed to do.

"Look around, Jeffery." She whispered. "They are all here to see your final stand."

_Are you proud?_

_To have founded a brand new behavior?_

_With hatred and hurt as your savior,_

_Nobody's chosen to follow,_

_So you choke back your tears and you swallow,_

_Men who have ruined your life,_

_You consume them with minimum strife,_

_But now you have got indigestion,_

_The antacid comes; as a question,_

"Please, no!" Jeffery cried out, trying to move back away from the edge of the building, the barrel of Anna's gun stopping him. "I didn't know what he was doing! I didn't know your boyfriend was involved! I didn't know!"

"Sure you didn't." Anna hissed, digging her gun in a little deeper. "That doesn't mean that you could have prevented all this. All you had to do was give us the information we asked for. You would have done some jail time and that would have been the end of it."

"You don't understand!" Jeffery replied, trying to look back at her. "This is higher than you imagined! Simmons was getting funding from way high up in the military! We're talking big budget people! They would have killed me!"

_Oh, oh, so_

_Find yourself,_

_Another place to fall,_

_Find yourself,_

_Up against another brick wall,_

_See yourself,_

_As a fallen angel,_

"Just like they killed Devon?!" Anna yelled, resisting the urge to push him off the edge. "Just like they tried to kill Maya, and tried to kill me and everyone else!? Just like they tried to turn alleys against each other!? You disgust me!" She screamed at him, grinning madly when the first News van rolled up at the back of the police barricade. "But don't worry... it'll be over soon."

_Well I don't see no holes in the road,_

_But you, found another place to fall,_

"We can't shoot her!" Mei growled when she saw Maria going for her rifle.

"Wasn't planning on it!" Maria yelled back, opening up the case and fumbling through rounds. "I'm looking for my tranquilizer darts. We can put her to sleep before she does any harm to herself or Jeffery."

"Get setup." Mei sighed, pointing towards a good vantage point for her. "If worst comes to worst, put her to sleep."

_There isn't much more I can say,_

_I don't understand the delay,_

_You're asking for friendly advice,_

_But remain in a permanent crisis,_

_Affection is yours if you ask,_

_First you must take off your mask,_

_When your back's turn I've decided,_

_I'll throw it away just like I did,_

"This is it." Anna whispered, taking a deep shuddering breath before she sighed a little.

"This is your last chance." She growled at Jeffery. "You confess everything, right here and now in front of the news cameras." She said as another news van pulled up to the scene. "You tell them everything. If you leave something out, I'll push you off. If you lie, I'll push you off."

"And when I'm done?" Jeffery whispered back, looking down at the ground far below.

"I'll end it quick for you."

_Oh, oh, so_

_Find yourself,_

_Another place to fall,_

_Find yourself,_

_Up against another brick wall,_

Jeffery licked his lips just as a black Top Kick truck pulled to a sudden stop at the back of the police cars. He recognized Lennox as he ran from the trucks cab, obviously heading for the group of cops that were directly below him.

The entire scene had become eerily silent when he spoke up.

_See yourself,_

_As a fallen angel,_

"My name is Jeffery Duffer. I was part of a government experiment on-" His voice cut out when a loud and overpowering gunshot was heard.

_Well I don't see no holes in the road,_

_But you, found another place to fall,_

"Scatter!" Bryan yelled, quickly diving for cover when Jeffery's body dropped from the rooftop, hitting the roof of his car at what could only be described at just below terminal velocity.

"Sniper!" Maria yelled, quickly changing out her darts for full metal jacket bullets. "The was diffidently a fifty caliber." She whispered to herself, already checking open windows and viewable rooftops.

Bryan pulled himself from the ground, looking up to see Anna running away from the rooftop. He looked back down and sighed when he saw the crushed in roof of his patrol car. The car now splattered in various body fluids from a now dead Jeffery Duffer.

_I don't see no holes in the road,_

_But you, found another place to fall,_

xxxxxx

"What the fuck was that!? And where the hell did Anna go?!" Teresa yelled when they made it back to the base.

"That was a fifty caliber sniper rifle. And Anna is MIA." Maria rolled her eyes, as if everything was obvious.

"Wait, a fifty caliber? Like, what the Army or Marines use?" Teresa nearly choked on her drink. "Who the hell had that thing?"

"Wasn't Anna, that was for damn sure. Someone shot Jeffery to keep him quiet."

"Yah well whoever did it owes me a new fucking car." Bryan growled, sitting on the nearest table, arms crossed over his chest. "Good thing I decided to take the Impala instead of you, huh, Sideswipe?"

"My thoughts exactly."

"Right," Kasey sighed. "So now what?"

"Well... we did tag Simmons car when he fled, but I really don't think we should go after him yet. If things are as the really do appear, then someone might be taking shots as us soon unless we're careful." Mei sighed, sitting down with a thud.

"Two people in two days..." She sighed, letting her head fall to the table.

"Fuck."

xxxxxx ------ xxxxxx

Songs Used:

_Another Place to Fall_ by _KT Tunstall_

A/N: Heh, checked my stats page just before posting this. I was amazed to find out that this story has over 10 thousand hits. Awesome.


	18. Pursuit Of: Information

A/N: Just a filler/setup since I had to write something to pass some time today. Figured since the next part of the story I wanted to write needed all this to happen anyway, I figured I'd write it now and post it up so that I can get all the related stuff in the next chapter. Enjoy.

Also, let it be known, I'm not religious (well-freakin-duh) but I still respect religions, so don't anyway get offended by this chapter.

xxxxxx

Maria stood with her hands on her hips, standing atop the building that had previously been the scene of Jeffery's death the day before.

She looked around, looking for higher roof tops and windows that had a good view of the rooftop the hostage situation had taken place. She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "Alright, I'm a sniper with a huge ass rifle trying to leave a message. I've got one shot... where do I sit?" She whispered to herself, opening her eyes and spotting a rooftop a little under a quarter of a mile away. "Perfect."

xxxxxx

Bryan sighed, sitting in Sideswipe on the side of the road, waiting for Maria to finish things up on the rooftop.

"What a mess." He muttered to himself, tapping the steering wheel idly. Sideswipe chirped his radio in response. "Why do you insist on tapping every part of me you can get your hands on?"

Bryan blinked at first before he rolled his eyes. "Sorry, I'm not used to my car talking back at me."

"That would be the reason why I'm not your car."

"Shut up." Bryan sighed, leaning forward and sitting with his chin resting on the steering wheel. The car rocked on it's suspension. "Hey, I'm not looking for a fight, I'm observing. I thought you humans like observant beings."

"Yah, only when they're not observing us."

"You humans are confusing." Sideswipe chuckled. "I like it."

"Figured you would." Bryan was about to say more when Maria tapped on the window, Sideswipe rolling it down for him.

"I found the sniper's vantage point. It's exactly were I would sit. Quarter mile down the way, just on top of the Maxwell building. From the roof you can actually see where Anna was and a few of us down below."

Bryan nodded. "Get in, we'll report back."

"Hold on." Maria said, leaning on Sideswipe's roof. "Lets go to that building. See if we can find any evidence."

"Alright, but we have to make it quick," Bryan said, turning the keys even though he didn't have to. "Me and Kasey are going to meet with a Black Market contact. Simmons was getting funding from somewhere other than the government, we need to know who."

xxxxxx

Las Vegas, Nevada

xxxxxx

Simmons sat in his car outside of the casino, taking a few breaths before striating himself up and getting out. He was in some serious trouble. His investors would not be happy, not one bit with the raid of his base. He had been clumsy. There wouldn't be a second time.

He rode the elevator to the top floor, the doors opening to a gothic style hallway.

_Declare this an emergency,_

_Come on and spread a sense of urgency,_

_And pull us through,_

_And pull us through,_

Simmons waited for the guard to allow him access behind the black door. The former S7 agent quick to get on his knees upon approaching the alter-like table.

_And this is the end,_

_This is the end,_

_Of the world,_

"My contacts tell me there was an _incident_." The owner of the dark voice was a pale skinned man no older than forty. He had surgically implanted fangs in his mouth and dressed in a deep purple and black clothing. It would have been laughable if it wasn't for the fact that if the man wanted Simmons dead, he would be dead.

_And it's time we saw a miracle,_

_Come on it's time for something biblical,_

_To pull us through,_

_And pull us through,_

"Nothing I couldn't handle." Simmons took a small breath. "We were raided by the police at our main compound. One of my government officials had been taken hostage by the police forces and told them were the base was."

_And this is the end,_

_This is the end,_

_Of the world,_

"I already know," Was the reply. "I had him executed when one of those police officers exposed him to the outside world. He almost told them the truth." There was a pause. "Give me two good reasons as to why I should keep you alive."

_Proclaim eternal victory,_

_Come on and change the course of history,_

_And pull us through,_

_And pull us through,_

Simmons thought quickly, trying hard not to sputter when he talked. "The re-creation of N.B.E. three was nearly flawless! It would appear a small amount of his true identity was left and we didn't spot it. But now we know how to create those creations! We can create an entire army of them in a matter of weeks! Also, due to unforeseen circumstances, one of the special operations officers attached to the police has gone rouge. _They_ don't even know where she is, if we can get to her first, we can use her."

_And this is the end,_

_This is the end,_

_Of the world,_

The man in front of Simmons waved his guard off, his hand placed on his chin for a few seconds before pulling it back. "You have one," He said, holding up a single finger. "more chance. You find the girl and you are to either use her against them or kill her. If you screw this up, I need not tell you what I will do."

"Understood."

xxxxxx

Bryan whistled, standing on the rooftop, one leg on the ledge as he looked around. "Shit, can see the entire city from up here."

Maria nodded, she was currently crouched looking closely at the ground. Bryan looked down by his feet, calling her over. "Found a notch. This is defidently where he shot from. from."

"You don't say." She replied, causing him to turn around and look at her as she held up an empty fifty caliber casing. "Not good." She whispered. "It was a tracer round. Damn things glow from air friction, they're normally only-"

"-found in machine guns. I know, Maria, I spent a few years in the field you know. But it could be a good thing too, it's unique." Bryan cut her off, rolling his eyes. "Lets go, I've got things to do."

xxxxxx

Bryan held the large church door open for Kasey before entering himself, she nodded to him before breaking off and heading for the candles, he himself heading for a confessional booth.

Bryan sat in the booth, folding his hands together for a moment before sighing softly.

"Bless me father, for I have sinned." He started, waiting for the reply.

"How long has it been since your last confession, my child?" The man behind the vale questioned, waiting patiently for the response.

"It's been a few years. But, uh, I've been kinda bad lately."

The priest chuckled, pulling the cloth away and grinning at Bryan. "Kind of? Damn, Bry, you've been in the news quite a lot!"

"A good pasture shouldn't swear." Bryan replied, grinning.

"That would be why I was never the church's favorite. So, what information do you need this time?"

"I think you've never been their favorite because you deal in black market information, but mind you, that's merely my speculation."

"Moving on," The priest pressed.

"I need information on someone in the black market who has been dumping large amounts of cash into a black box government project."

"That shouldn't been too hard to find out. Let me see what I can do."

"Good," Bryan sighed again. "I also need you to find out what assassin is using T-Fifty rounds for a rifle."

"I will find out for you." The priest replied, sitting back in his chair a little. "Though I have a feeling something is bothering you."

"You could say that, Father." Bryan answered, moving to stand up.

"Wait. Sit. Tell me."

"Well, Father, it goes like this." Bryan sighed, leaning forward a little. "A very good friend of mine has gone missing in connection to the information I need. I'm worried that she is going to get herself killed, or worse, taken hostage by the very people we aim to destroy."

"Have you said any prayers, my son?" The priest asked, his tone gone from playful to semi-serious.

"Aw, some on, Pasture, you know I don't believe in that."

"But your partner does." He said, referring to Kasey. "And I remember a time when your faith used to be strong."

"It was, and then just about my entire squad was whipped out by terrorists in an ambush."

"It was their time."

"With all due respect, Father, you have your god, and I have my duty, so please, don't confuse them."

"You work for a government who prints 'In god we trust' on their own money, yet you deny your faith."

Bryan sighed, standing up. "My government is run by Democrats and Catholics and people who swear they love their mothers but would sell them for a dime if given the chance."

"Fair enough."

"Maybe one day I'll believe again, but now today. So you can get that information?"

"Come back tomorrow, I should have something for you by then."

Bryan nodded, standing up and offering a small bow. "Have a good evening, Pasture. Be safe."

"No other way, my son." The priest replied, standing up and heading into the convent building. Bryan re-entered the church from the booth, finding Kasey kneeled in a booth, a few more candles then what had been lit when they entered were burning brightly.

"Come on." He whispered, tapping her shoulder. "Lets get back."

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

Songs used:

_Apocalypse Please_ by _Muse_

Album: _30 Days of Night Trailer Movie_


	19. Pursuit Of: Sunstreaker

Anna shivered when she stepped from the shower and cleared the mirror of steam before staring at herself in it. She slowly started to dry herself off before checking herself for any untreated wounds.

"Mei is going to actually kill me." She sighed, pulling on the hotel's complementary bathrobe, sitting on the cooled sheets of the bed before laying back, letting her legs dangle over the edge.

"What am I doing here? I should be back there with them..."

'_They don't want you.'_ She argued with herself. _'It's your fault Devon died. You were in bed with the enemy every night and you didn't know it.'_ She argued with herself.

Anna closed her eyes for a moment, trying to clear her head of the voice that was currently threatening her sanity.

She had ran from the post office, ran until her lungs burned and tears blurred her vision. She cleaned herself up as much as she could before checking into a small hotel in cash and under a fake name. She had been sure to get a room close to the stairwell and where there was the least amount of cameras and security staff.

She wouldn't stay long.

Two, maybe three days at the most. It was just until she get calm her nerves and either bring herself to return to the base to face the others or gain the courage to work the remainder of the case alone.

Personally and currently, she didn't like either option.

She sighed, laying back into the cool sheets and closing her eyes, a little rest would see her mind strait soon enough.

xxxxxx

"Look, if you help me out here, I'll convince Kasey to give you a wax." Bryan pleaded with Sunstreaker. He had locked his doors when one of Bryan's informants reached for the handle, a cigarette in her other hand.

Sunstreaker seemed to think it over. "Fine." He sighed, unlocking his doors. "But she's going to clean out the inside too!"

"Sorry," Bryan sighed when the informant sat down in the seat. "I'm afraid the car's electrical system is on the frits."

"It happens. You got the cash?"

Bryan nodded, handing over a small wad of twenty dollar bills. "All used and non-sequential."

"Good," She took a puff of her cigarette. "I talked to your priest friend. He fears he's come under watch since your last visit, so he sent me. He says that he was able to find out the operating location of your next target, but he can't seem to pin just who's behind it. A rather large 'donation' was made out of the Dunkin Royal Casino out of Las Vegas. But, since that Casino is a three way joint ownership, he doesn't know who made the donation."

"Good, good." Bryan took a few quick notes. "Anything else?"

"Yah, that assassin you're looking for? I know for a fact that only three assassins in the history of assassinations have used tracer rounds for a fifty caliber sniper rifle. The most recent, closest, and still alive one works for a contract agency based out of Hartford, Connecticut. Don't know what good that information will do yah, but it's worth a shot. Oh, and that agency has been known to hold government contracts," She winked at him. "Some even say that one of their contracts was JFK."

Bryan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

"Right, so that's it?"

"That's it. Thanks." He said as she got out, walking away. Bryan could feel Sunstreaker squirming under him. "Sorry, sorry. Come on, lets go get you that wax."

xxxxxx

Kasey growled as she finished waxing a squirming Sunstreaker, the Autobot clearly enjoying it more than she was. She stood back, allowing him to transform and look himself over. She rolled her eyes, starting to walk away, glaring daggers at Bryan who sat smugly in the corner. She flung the rag at him as she walked pasted, vowing to get him back double.

Bryan chuckled and rolled his eyes at her, following behind while Sunstreaker transformed, starting to roll out of the hanger when Maya came running up. "Wait!" She called after him, he stopped and revved his engine a little. "Can I come too? I don't feel like sitting around the base all day waiting for something to happen." She said, grinning when Sunstreaker's door popped open.

xxxxxx

"...you wouldn't believe the look on his face when he came out of stasis. To say he was angry is a major understatement."

Maya was laughing to the point she could barely breathe, picturing a bright pink Ironhide sporting flower stickers. "Poor guy didn't stand a chance against you and Sideswipe."

"That's not even the best one!" Sunstreaker laughed back as they pulled to a stop at a red light, letting traffic cross. "One time we spiked his energon drink and had him singing show tunes by the second shot."

"Was he as tone deaf as I think he is?"

There was a pause before Sunstreaker replied. "Yes!"

And once again, Maya was rolling in his seat, laughing harder then she could ever remember. Holding her sides as she finally managed to catch her breath, she sighed, leaning back in the seat. "Sounds like you and Sideswipe are quite the pair of trouble makers."

When she didn't get a response at first, she sat up a little straighter. "What?"

"We're being followed." Was the quiet reply. Maya placed her hands on the steering wheel, looking in the rear view mirror to see a large garbage truck following them a little too close for her comfort. "Shit." She cursed under her breath. "I hope it's nothing."

'_Spoke too soon!'_ She found herself screaming in her mind when she heard a loud bang followed by Sunstreaker, swerving a little and yelping in pain.

"You okay?" She asked as he started to accelerate, turning off the main road and onto a service road in order to stay out of the general traffic. Of course, the garbage truck followed.

"No!" He yelled back. "They hit my communications chip _and_ my transformation gyro, all in one shot!"

"Not good!" She said, reaching for her cell phone, just as a second bang rang out. This time she saw the muzzle flash coming from atop the garbage truck.

"There goes my break line!" Sunstreaker yelped, as he let off the gas, sensing the train tracks ahead and the road block just after it. He was able to stop just before the train tracks, the garbage truck pulling up behind them as a train horn whistled in the distance.

"Fuck!" Maya yelled, grabbing for her pistol, cocking back the hammer she leaned out the window, only to have a bullet lodge itself in her shoulder. She retreated behind Sunstreaker's bullet proof glass just as the garbage truck gave them a little nudge onto the tracks.

"Maya, get onto the passenger side, now!" Sunstreaker yelled as another garbage truck pulled in front of them, blocking them completely in on the train tracks. Maya crawled across the center consol, sitting in the passenger seat just as the seatbelt came down and help her securely in place.

"This is gonna suck." Sunstreaker groaned to himself, shutting down what he could of his pain receptors, just before the train struck.

xxxxxx

"Hey, as anyone seen Maya?" Mei asked, walking into the main hanger, she had been looking for her second I command for a little over three hours.

Optimus shook his head, as did Ironhide. "No, we haven't." Answered the leader.

"She left with Sunstreaker to go for a joy ride." Bryan answered, looking at his watch. "But that was over three and a half hours ago."

Sideswipe had overheard the conversation as he entered the hanger. "I can't sense Sunny. I can't get him on the comms either."

"Is that unusual?" Mei asked, looking from Sideswipe to Ironhide and then Optimus. The large Semi nodded. "Very."

xxxxxx

"_Dispatch to 5-George-31."_

"_Five-George."_

"_Thirty-one, respond code one to a disturbance call. Local residents report having heard a loud crash three hours ago and are now reporting a vehicle horn."_

"_Copy. What's the twenty?"_

"_Old service roads by the Glendale Drive Freeway Exit. Check it out and report back."_

"_Copy, 5-George-31 responding, code one."_

Megan sighed as she turned down the old access road. Her recently recovered and even more recently put back on active duty partner, Keith was dozing off in the passenger seat of their patrol car.

She didn't bother turning her flashing lights on as the crept down the bumpy service road at a slow fifteen miles an hour, already hearing the horn get louder and louder by the second.

"Probably a dead battery." She whispered to herself, shaking her partner awake.

Keith rubbed his eyes, sitting up the seat as he looked around. "What's the call?"

"Noise disturbance." Megan replied, pull their car to a stop when the reached a set of train tracks, the entire area littered with car parts. "Shit." She cursed, turning her top lights on and pointing the spotlight into the ditch where the car horn was coming from.

"Holy shit." Keith yelled, running for the First Aid kit in the trunk.

"5-George-31. Clear the air for emergency traffic!" Megan yelled into her radio, already trying to pry the passenger door open with her gloved hands, hearing the car groan a little she now knew what she was looking at.

"_Go for emergency traffic."_

"I need paramedics to my location, code three! Also, I need watch commander Teresa and CT attachment officer Bryan to my location, code three!"

"_Copy! What's the situation!?"_

"Train versus car! I've got one down! Need medics here ASAP!"

xxxxxx

Bryan and the others were all standing around a map of the city, trying to think of places where Maya and Sunstreaker could be. Maya wasn't answering her cell phone, and Sideswipe couldn't sense Sunstreaker, nor raise the Autobot on their communications system.

Bryan sighed as his cell phone rang, he answered it quickly when he saw the name. "Yah, Teresa?"

"_Hey, I need you to the location I sent to your PDA right now. Bring Ratchet with you and Barricade as well."_

"What? Why?"

"_I've got a yellow Viper here. And when I say this thing has been totaled I'm not joking. I think it's one of our Autobot friends judging by the fact that the Dodge symbol has been replaced with an Autobot one."_

"Sunstreaker!"

"_Get here, now!"_

"Guys we've gotta go! They found Sunstreaker, he's injured... bad!"

xxxxxx

Bryan was holding tightly onto the overhead handle in Ratchet's cab as the medic made record speed down the dirt road. Barricade was close behind them and,, upon hearing that Sunstreaker was injured, there was no chance of the others staying behind.

It was quite a site, the convoy that was coming down the dirt road at speeds topping fifty miles an hour.

Ratchet skidded to a stop, Bryan and Kasey already out of his cab and running up to the firefighters. "Do not cut off that roof!" He was yelled, waving his arms wildly.

"What?" Called one the firefighters. "We need to get that woman out of there! Besides, damn thing is nearly torn off as it is!"

Bryan looked over his shoulder at Ratchet, there was a long pause before the medic rocked his suspension in a nod. It was obvious it wasn't easy for him.

"Fine, do it." Bryan replied, letting Kasey take over as he climbed back into Ratchet's cab.

"What are we going to do?" Bryan asked, sitting foreword, watching the rescue efforts.

"There... isn't much I can do... his structure... It's nearly completely destroyed."

"Can you repair it?" Bryan asked.

"It could take days. And that's if I can transfer his spark into a temporary casing so that it doesn't go out. It will be extremely difficult."

"But you can do it." Bryan confirmed.

"Yes."

"Good. Do you have what you need here to sustain his life long enough to get him back to base?"

"I can do a little work on him yes. But unfortunately, I can't transform and work on him with so many humans around. It's too much exposure. I'm sad to say but... he won't last much longer... I won't make it in time."

Bryan opened the door. "Leave it to me. Just be ready." He said, stepped out and Ratchet closed the door behind him as he approached the fire truck, the Ambulance just having left.

Bryan stuck his fingers in his mouth, whistling loudly so that he had everyone's attention. It was only a few seconds before all eyes were on him.

"Everyone!" He called out loudly. "What you are about to see is completely classified! If you tell anyone, and I mean _anyone_ about what you are about to see, you'll lose your jobs and I swear, I'll put the freeze on any asset your family has even thought about owning!" He yelled out, turning to look over his shoulder at the H2 Ambulance behind him, earning a blank stare from most on scene when he said. "Now's your chance."

There was a slight pause and a wave of uneasiness washed the crowed that watched the Search and Rescue vehicle. Suddenly, gears shifted, gyros whirled, and they all found themselves staring at a rather tall robot, who was quickly making his way towards the yellow Viper in the ditch.

"Not a word." Bryan growled at the group before heading off to see if he could help Ratchet, the medic already yelling out orders.

xxxxxx

Anna sighed as she made sure the hotel room door was locked. She wasn't much in the mood for room service, but didn't exactly want something from the mini-bar either. So she opted to walk a little ways to a fast food restaurant and just sit and think while she ate.

She excepted the tray from the girl behind the counter with a small fake smile and a quiet "Thanks". She sat down, unwrapping her meal and starting to eat.

She had made it a little over half way through her meal before someone took the seat across from her, sitting down harshly and quickly. Anna tensed at first before she looked up.

The man was easily no older than thirty, her best guess was Twenty-Four. He had blond hair with a few red streaks, but what really caught her eye was the red jacket he was sporting with the Corvette symbol on it, a necklace hanging from his neck with a smaller, but still visible Autobot emblem.

"They attacked him." The man whispered, leaning forward until he had his head buried in his arms. "They just attacked him viciously."

Anna was out of her seat, grabbing the man half by his arm, half by his shoulder and gently bringing him towards the back hallway towards the bathrooms, stopping when she was out of earshot of anyone else.

"Who was attacked?" She asked, a hand on each of his shoulders as she looked him in the eyes, already knowing who she was dealing with.

"Sunstreaker. They... they attacked him Anna. Ratchet is doing everything he can to save him but... I feel him fading."

Anna sighed, pulling him into a hug before pulling back. Why had he come to her? He must of tracked her down, but why her?

"Come on, lets get you back to the hotel and we'll talk. Does anyone know you're here?"

"Bumblebee and Jazz keep trying to reach me on the radio, but I haven't been answering. I just don't want to be there right now."

"I understand, Sideswipe." She whispered, leading him out into the parking lot.

"Come on, I know a place we can go."

xxxxxx

"Alright, I was able to transfer his spark into a temporary host until we can repair or rebuild his form but... we don't have much time." Ratchet stated, looking around his workshop.

"His body looks completely trashed." Mikeala stated, looking over her shoulder at Ratchet. "I think we'll have to build him a new one."

Bryan and Mei was standing next to her, the former of the two holding his PDA in his hand, looking between it and certain points in Sunstreaker's body. He was busy studying the fifty caliber bullet hole while Mei was looking at scratch marks on the bumpers as well as the doors.

"One shot..." Bryan was whispering to himself, looking down at his PDA. "In one shot they took out his ability to transform or call for backup." He said, looking over to Mei. She was catching on.

"I've got scratch marks on both bumpers. Someone held him to those train tracks. My guess if whoever was driving the train was one of them as well."

"Why did the bullet penetrate his armor? I mean, if we fired the same weapon at Ironhide or Optimus, it wouldn't of had such a devastating effect." Maria asked from her position up on Ratchet's work bench.

"They hit a spot where the armor is weak." Ratchet answered, preparing his tools a little ways away. "Plus, Ironhide and Optimus are built to withstand heavy incoming fire, where as the twins are built to be more agile for hand to hand combat."

"Like Bumblebee was built to be good at recon?" Mikeala offered.

"Exactly." The medic confirmed.

"Speaking of the twins, where is Sideswipe now? He didn't return with us from the accident scene." Bryan asked, looking over at Mei who shrugged.

"The twins were - are - extreme connected to one another. The difference being that if it was Sideswipe laying here and not Sunstreaker, then Sunstreaker would be out destroying half of the city in rage. Sideswipe is most likely out trying to sort out his memory banks before taking action. But if I know how the twins are, he _will_ take action." Ratchet stated, starting to build a new body, Mikeala working on wiring.

"What kind of action?" Mei asked before she could stop herself.

"The same that Anna is taking now. Going off on his own to deal with them himself." Bryan answered, already knowing the answer. "Which means that either we're going to have an open war in the city or we'll have another one of our allies down."

"This is not good." Mei said, running a finger along Sunstreaker's shattered armor.

"I'll say." Bryan rolled his eyes. "They're coming at us with fifty caliber bullets, and going after the Autobots with trains! What's worse is that it would appear that they have some basic knowledge about Autobot physiology, saying as they hit both his radio and his ability to transform with one well placed shot. These attackers are just plain scary."

"Tell me about it. We need a new plan." Mei stated, starting to head for the medbay doors.

"Well, my contact tells me that the assassin who killed Jeffery is from contract agency based out of Hartford, Connecticut. I have a few FBI buddies there that I've yet to call, but it's next on my list. Second thing is that I've also been told that several large donations were made to Simmons from a casino in Las Vegas. We know which one, but it has several owners, so we don't know if all of them or one of them is involved."

"And what happens if both of those leads go cold?" Mei said, looking over at him as the doors hissed open.

"Then we're officially screwed."


	20. Pursuit Of: NSX

"Alright, I can't take any more of this god damn depression!" Kasey yelled, slamming her keys down on the counter causing everyone, human and Autobot alike, to look up at her. "Everyone get their damn coats and holograms and whatever - we're going out!"

xxxxxx

"This is not exactly what I expected." Bryan said, blinking as they all stood outside the city's bowling alley. He looked over at his partner and her smug grin. "Everyone needs to unwind and relax, what better way to do that then friendly competition."

Bryan looked over his shoulder, everyone had come with the exception of Ratchet and Mikeala who were still at the base building Sunstreaker's new body.

It wasn't long until they had gone in and settled down in two lanes, only after trying to explain the concept to Optimus, Ironhide, and Bumblebee. Out of the three, Bumblebee had been the quickest to pick it up, as Sam had predicted.

Mei sighed heavily, sitting back in the seat after just having finished her turn, she looked over at Kasey for a moment before closing her eyes, hearing the girl shout at Ironhide. "Hey! I saw that! Cheater!"

The tall hologram of the Autobot glared at her.

"You can't use your cannons, no matter how small they are! That's cheating!" Kasey said, keeping her voice as low as her excitement would allow.

"It was not explained with the rest of the rules. My strike stands."

"It does not!" Kasey said, trying hard not to laugh at Bumblebee when the bot shook his head. "I don't have a cannon, it isn't fair."

Ironhide rolled his eyes, pretending like he didn't hear her. Optimus was next up, throwing the ball down the lane, somehow managing to get a strike in his lane... and the next three lanes to his left.

"How in the hell..." Bryan started before shaking his head. "Never mind."

"Was that good?" The Autobot leader asked, looking from Bumblebee to Sam, both were too busy laughing to answer. Bumblebee went next, the scout hitting each of the pins dead on with a single ball, causing everyone to applaud.

The next round was uneventful until Kasey accused Ironhide of cheating again, that was when Mei snapped. "Shut up!" The girl yelled, standing quickly, her fists at her side as she started breathing hard.

"Whoa, Mei, what the hell?" Tyler gasped out, quickly at his commander's side. The entire alley had fallen eerily silent.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up." She hissed at Kasey, starting to walk away and towards the front door.

"What the fuck was that about?" Kasey growled under her breath, aggravated that the game had been interrupted with such an outburst. Mei must have heard it, because before anyone could grab her, she was already leaping and tackling Kasey to the ground.

Kasey was struggling to keep Mei from swinging at her while everyone was working to separate the two girls. Mei managed to get a good swing at Kasey's jaw in just before Tyler and Ironhide were able to pry the enraged woman off. Ironhide and Barricade were doing their best to hold Mei back when she lunged to Kasey again, Bryan stepping in front of his partner.

Again, silence.

"You want to explain what that was all about?!" Kasey yelled, trying to push Bryan out of her way, he held fast.

"I have one dead team member, another one missing, and a third fighting for her god damn life in the hospital; and all you case about is Ironhide cheating at bowling!?"

"Your dead wrong, Mei! I'm worried about the whole damn thing! But for now there isn't anything we can do until Ratchet and Mikeala are done! Everyone is tired, beat, and depressed about the whole situation, they needed a day out!"

"Fuck you!" Mei growled back, trying to push past Barricade and Ironhide again.

"Fuck me?!" Kasey screamed back. "Listen you little bitch, your team wouldn't be half as bad as it is if you all knew what the fuck you were doing!" She yelled, quickly regretting her words when Mei stopped struggling with Ironhide and Barricade. She turned and headed for the door, slamming it open so hard the glass shattered.

"What, Mei!" Kasey was already pushing past Bryan and Barricade, chasing the girl out the door. Too late, Mei had already sped off.

"I didn't mean it."

xxxxxx

"Where could she be?" Kasey whispered, she had spent the past four hours scouring the city for any sign of Mei. Barricade's engine revved up a little when she stopped at a red light. Kasey sighed, resting her chin on the steering wheel. "If you're tired Barricade, we can always head back, I can take my car."

Another engine spike. "I am perfectly fine." Barricade growled back, though secretly the cop car was starting to grow tired, his unspoken respect for Mei pushed him forward in looking for the girl. She was smart for one, he had already figured out she had turned off her cell phone's GPS locator.

But Barricade knew better than that.

xxxxxx

Anna checked the corner one last time before shutting the large hanger door, pushing the button to her left she heard the oversized locks snapping into place.

Perfect.

"Way back when my family used to rent the place." She offered, turning around with her hands on her hips. "I know we had tons of stuff stored in the basement, but I haven't been here in a few years. I'll have to look around." She stated, taking a seat at the table across from Sideswipe. The Autobot hadn't spoken the entire drive.

They were quite a ways from the others, and they both knew it. They were hiding out in what could easily be called an Airplane graveyard. Tons of wrecked flyers were scattered around the three mile wide stretch of land.

It was perfect for hiding, actually. And years ago Anna and her family had spent an entire summer out there, just enjoying working on the airplanes and a few of her father's cars.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked quietly, leaning forward until she was able to rest her chin on her arms which were folded across the table. Sideswipe just shook his head, keeping his blue eyes locked on the Autobot necklace his fingers were playing with.

"Alright, fine." Anna sighed, getting up and heading for the fridge. "Lets see what hasn't expired."

xxxxxx

"Man, talk about an out of body experience." Sunstreaker's voice floated around the medbay, finally waking up in his temporary form. It took him a moment to realize what was going on.

"What the..." He whispered to himself, holding his hands out in front of his face. They weren't made of metal, but he wouldn't call it skin either.

"It's called Dragon Skin." Mikeala answered for him, looking up from her work for a moment. "It's not exactly like human skin, but it all looks the same." She said, watching as Sunstreaker got to his feet and wobbled a little before getting his balance.

"What happened?"

Mikeala sighed, shutting the hood of the car she was working on and whipping her hands on a rag. "Do you want the long version or the short version." She asked, leaning back on the hood.

"Short one."

"Alright. You and Maya went out for a little drive and were attacked... by a speeding train."

"That doesn't explain my current... form." He said, trying to choose his words carefully. He checked his internal systems. Everything seemed slightly normal. His vision didn't have it's normal heads up display, and he couldn't find his internet access terminal. Another check found that his weapons and ability to transform had been disables.

He would speak with Ratchet about that later.

"Do you really want to know about why you're in that body?" She asked, taking a few short steps towards a rather large blue tarp. Sunstreaker nodded and watched as she pulled the tarp away. He flinched involuntarily, seeing the mangled Viper in front of him.

"Well... Ratchet always did say I would get myself fragged beyond repair." He said, taking a seat and staring at the wreck. "How am I even still here?"

"Lots of work by me and Ratchet, that's how." Mikeala stated, tossing the tarp back over the wreck thus shielding it from his eyes. "If it's any kind of consolation, we're working on a new body for you." She said, tossing a picture of a minivan down in front of him. She watched his expression change.

"Don't worry, I fought for you." She laughed a little. "Though Ratchet is a formidable opponent. We worked our way from a vacuum cleaner, to a toaster, to a minivan, and finally-" She said, pointing behind him at the sleek, sun yellow, Acura NSX.

Sunstreaker's jaw dropped slightly, seeing the sports car that would soon be his new body.

"It took a little convincing, but I got Ratchet to look around the internet for something fast, sleek, and that matched your personality. He found a nice concept car from Acura." She said proudly. "You'll be one of a kind when we get you in it. It'll just be a day or two more of work until it'll be fit for transforming and such. We even made sure to upgrade your weapons." She grinned watching his jaw go back into place and an oversized grin form on his face. "You like?" She asked, trying hard not to laugh a little.

xxxxxx

"The work on Sunstreaker's body is almost complete. We just need to fix a few things that will help with transforming and then implant his spark into the vehicle." Ratchet said, watching Prime nod as he took in all the information.

"And how is the search for Mei going?" The leader asked, looking to Bumblebee.

"Barricade reports that Mei has turned off her GPS enabled cell phone, but he is currently linked to the police and military database and is looking for her cell phone's signal. If she makes a call on it or if she calls from another phone, we'll know."

xxxxxx

"Holy fuck." Maya groaned, having just woken up in the hospital, her vision blurred a little as she looked around the room before sighing to herself and closing her eyes. "Anyone get the plate off that fucking thing that hit me?" She whispered to herself, opening her eyes again. "I hope Sunstreaker is okay..."

"Ratchet and Mikeala are working on him. He'll make it."

If she wasn't as injured as she was, Maya would have jumped at Mei's voice.

"Good to see you're awake. I was starting to get worried." Mei whispered, pulling the chair up to Maya's bed. The girl grinned at her teammate, ignoring the pain in her muscles.

"I'm fine. Sunstreaker protected me." She said, closing her eyes again. "Fucker probably has a five star crash test rating issued by Ratchet. Now that would mean something."

Mei chuckled to herself, resting her hand on her friend's. "Get some rest, Maya. You've earned it."

"No way boss. As soon as they release me from this place I'm going right back to work. The others still need us and this case is far from over yet."

"Not funny Maya. Do you realize how badly you were injured? That hole that put in your shoulder was child's play! They hit you with a train, Maya! Autobot or no Autobot, you still got hit by a freakin' train!"

"What doesn't kill me only makes me stronger Mei, you know that."

"Yah, yah." Mei sighed, shaking her head. "You'd think getting hit by a train would making you modest, if not just a little less stubborn."

"'Course not." Maya laughed a little before groaning in pain. "You're friend's here." She said, nodding towards the doorway. Mei looked up, not at all surprised to see Barricade's hologram in the doorway, grinning at her.

"Thought I'd find you here." He said, still grinning. "I have a weeping human female in my cab that wishes to see you."

Maya rolled her eyes. "Good to see you too Barricade."

"And what do you know, not all humans are fragile after all." Barricade replied, grinning at her though it was obvious semi-friendly banter.

"I swear, when I can move I'm going to have Ratchet weld you to something." Maya sighed, resting her head back on the pillow and closing her eyes.

"What a day, what a day." Mei grinned, brushing past Barricade and heading for the hospital's lobby.

"Can't wait for tomorrow." She added, tapping on Barricade's window to get Kasey's attention.

Kasey forced a smile.


	21. I Fight With Giant Robots

Bryan sighed, sitting back in his seat and allowing himself to relax a little, only slightly tuning out the somewhat noisy steps made by the Autobots and the playful argument between Sam and Bumblebee going on at the moment.

It would appear that things were currently quieting down, almost to the point where at a glance you wouldn't think anything had happened since Mission City.

As if that was the case.

He opened one eye a little when the couch sunk down a little, smirking to himself when Kasey also let her head back a sighed heavily. He let his eyes close again, forcing his muscles to relax.

Just in time for his cell phone to ring.

His first mistake had been not looking at the caller ID when he flipped it open.

The second mistake of the call was answering it at all.

"Yah?"

"_Is that anyway to greet your mother!?"_

Bryan sputtered out, gaining the attention of just about everyone in the room. He quickly recovered, moving to an out-of-the-way corner of the room and cupping his hand around his mouth and the mouth piece. "Mom? W-w-what's wrong? Is it Dad?"

He could almost hear the smirk in her voice. _"Your father is fine. Stubborn, but fine. His blood pressure is up again, so his doctor says we should take a vacation."_

Bryan already knew the next sentence before his mother had a chance to get it out of her mouth.

"_So we're flying out to see you!"_

And for the second time in a ten minute period, Bryan, one of the smartest agents on the team, sputtered out at a loss for words.

"_I'm actually calling you from the plane now. We're landing in just an hour, so be sure to pick us up! We'll be at the Jet Blue terminal."_

Bryan shut the phone and turned around, realizing that all eyes were on him still.

"What was that about?" Maria asked, looking up from her card game with Ironhide's hologram.

Kasey was just grinning at him. "His parents are on their way here. The reaction is the same every time." Bryan just glared at her. "And since they hate riding in our police unit and they wouldn't fit in my car, chances are he's going to ask one of the Autobots to drive him."

If looks could kill, Kasey would have been long gone.

"Well don't take Ironhide, whatever you do, he wanted to 'terminate' my parents." Sam joking, trying his best to pretend to ignore the weapons specialist's glare.

"They were extremely irritating." Was the simple reply before he continued his card game.

"Right." Kasey laughed to herself, looking around the room. "So that eliminates Ironhide from the running. And no doubt his father is coming too, so we'd need someone with backseats."

"Which takes out Jazz and Optimus." Mei piped in, not looking up from where she was cleaning her pistol.

Kasey nodded. "Yup, and his mother hates riding in cop cars."

"Which also takes out Barricade." Mei added, looking up and grinning.

Kasey was grinning at Bryan while he sighed, defeated. "Which leaves, Bumblebee or Ratchet."

That statement had said Medic looking up from his workbench, Mikeala giggling to herself when he did.

Seeing the horrified look on Bryan's face, Bumblebee spoke next. "I would be happy to help you with your parents."

"So it's decided then." Kasey said, nodding before looking at Bryan.

"Well, shit, that was easy." Bryan growled, rolling his eyes at Kasey when she laughed at him.

"Anyway," Mei began, turning to Ironhide and Maria. "I need you two to do us all a favor. Since we have a little bit of downtime I want you two to make plans for and build is a weapon. Something new and powerful. Think you guys can pull it off?"

And just like that, several hundred kids were unleashed into a candy store.

xxxxxx

"Thanks for your help Bumblebee." Bryan said, sighing as he leaned on the roof of the Camaro, looking at the Airport doors, waiting for his parents to step out. Seeing them exit he waved them over, putting his head back down and whispering. "I apologize in advance."

Bumblebee rocked on his suspension as if to say it was okay. After all, he was able to deal with Sam's parents just fine. Then again, they knew _what_ he was.

Bryan sighed, realizing what his parents were wearing. He gave them each a quick hug before helping them load their luggage into Bumblebee's trunk.

Climbing into the driver's seat, he pretended to start the engine, already counting down from five as he waited for the words he knew his mother was going to say.

"It's a very nice car, Bryan, but does it have to be so flashy?"

Bryan sighed; well at least he had apologized in advance.

xxxxxx

Will sighed, listening to one of the higher ups talk to him on the video communications link. He had arrived at the Autobot base a little while ago after finding out some rather, disturbing news. Having asked for answers, he was receiving them with the others standing around to listen in.

"...so, Simmons had my _full_ authorization for his tests."

"And you didn't think we needed to know any of that?! It put the lives of all my men at risk, never mind the other teams attached! Besides, Simmons has no right experimenting on the Autobots, they are not here for our _amusement_ or use, Major." Lennox barked back, clearing annoyed with the whole ordeal.

"The fact of the matter is, Lennox, that it was well worth the lives of you and your men." The major replied, obviously not phased by Will's outburst in the least.

"You and your men?" Mei echoed in the background, standing between Kasey and Ironhide's hologram. Ironhide found himself chuckling. "He thinks you're a man."

"I think he's an idiot." She snapped, glaring at the oversized screen.

"I know you're not a man." Kasey replied, laughing to herself.

Mei growled. "I think you're an idiot too."

Attention was turned back to Lennox and the Major.

"I am supposed to be made aware of any military intentions or concerns with the Autobots. The fact that you were _hacking_ them without any kind of notice or consent is in direct violation of the treaty set down by the president himself! Do you realize that they could easily declare war on us?!"

"That is not my concern, Captain."

Will growled low under his breath. "The hell is isn't! It's like firing on a country with nuclear weapons and not expect it to use them!"

"Need I remind you of your rank, Captain. I don't need to explain myself to you. Your continued search and recon of Agent Simmons is to stop immediately, and all information turned up by your investigation is to be turned over to us immediately. Failure to do so will result in-"

Will had ended the call before the Major could finish.

"Bull-freakin-shit." Kasey growled, looking over at Lennox.

He was grinning.

"Don't worry. I have no intention of handing over anything and I don't plan to stop looking for Simmons and who he is working for. I will also see to it," Will said, turning to Optimus. "that the Major gets what he deserves for such acts of pure treason."

xxxxxx

"So what hotel did you guys book a reservation at?" Bryan asked, glancing at his Father in the passenger seat before looking at his Mother in the rear view mirror. His father snorted, glancing over at him. "Just like you to stick us in a hotel when we visit."

His Mother sighed, looking at the window. "Be nice Warren, our son is a very busy and obviously doesn't have room for us at his place."

Bryan forced himself not to roll his eyes, he was being tag teamed yet again.

"It's not like that. I'm in the middle of an important case and even I'm not in my apartment because of it. I mean, you guys can stay there if you want while you are here, but I won't be around there much."

"You're not staying at your apartment?" His Mother asked from the back. "Where are you staying then? I hope you're eating well."

"I'm eating fine, Mom." Bryan chuckled to himself. "I'm staying with some ah - coworkers. There isn't much room around there, so I doubt we'd be able to fit you guys in."

"So you're not even going to try then?" His Father asked, not bothering to look over.

Bryan sighed, shaking his head. "It's a lot more complicated then that." He replied, reaching for his cell phone when it started to ring. "Yah?"

"_Hey, we need you back at the base, there's been a pretty big update."_ Kasey said, it was obvious to him she was enjoying the fact that she knew what he was going through.

"It'll be a little bit, I need to make sure my parents get settled in." Bryan replied, sighing when he heard Kasey talking with someone on the other end, a few laughs and giggles later she was back on the phone.

"_So, bring them here then."_

"What?!" Bryan shouted before he could stop himself.

"_Bring - them - here."_ Kasey repeated. _"I mean, lets face it Bryan, we both know that if you don't bring them here, your Father is just going to follow you here one day anyway."_

Bryan knew she was right and he sighed because of it. The last time his parents had been in town, he had been working a case along side with the local FBI office, trying to track down some sort of religious cult that was stealing cars and nearly beating the driver's to death in the process.

The case had been going fine until his Father followed him to a meet.

"_Still there?"_

"Yah, I'm here..." Bryan paused. "Are you sure about this? Did you run it by the others?"

"_You mean did I run it by Optimus?"_ Kasey asked, laughing softly. _"Yah, I did. He says so long as you trust them enough to keep quiet, he does the same."_

Bryan would have to remember to _thank_ the Autobot leader later.

Defeated, he shook his head a little and moved into the far left lane to make a U-turn and head towards the base. "Alright, be there in fifteen." He said, hanging up his phone.

"Fine, you got your wish, Dad." Bryan sighed, making the U-turn and heading for the Autobot base.

xxxxxx

Simmons' interest had been perked to say the least. A report from one of his recon teams sent to keep an eye on those trying to track him down had reported that one of the officers had picked up two 'tourists' from the airport.

Grinning to himself he started making plans. With a little luck he would be able to take hostage the two tourists and forces the Autobots and Black Ops members to fall back and leave him alone long enough for him to get into a safe house and picked up by his officials.

But that would be with a lot of luck. The teams had already proven to be a force that he really didn't want to meet head on. They had, so far, tracked him down, shred his base of operations, and killed two of his senior staff. And it was obvious that they weren't going to go away on their own.

Extreme measures needed to be taken.

He knew right away where the weakest point would be for that team.

William Lennox. Or, to be more exactly, Lennox's family. Simmons knew that if he hit the Captains family, that he would waiver Lennox enough to where the Army Captain would most likely drop the case and leave him be. And while that didn't mean that the others would do the same, he knew it would have them looking over their shoulders.

However, the weakest link was also the most well guarded. Lennox's family was under constant guard by the Autobot Weapons Specialist: Ironhide. And that would prove difficult.

After going over footage from the Mission City incident and reading over reports. He had discovered that the Autobot war vet was very skilled, somewhat agile, and more deadly then the other Autobots combined. He would have to be careful with this one.

The hacking trick would work again. Since he knew his database at his other base of operations had been compromised during the raid, he knew that they would most likely know how to counter and hack, if not prevent it all together. No, he would have to do something else.

The attack on the yellow Viper, Sunstreaker, as he learned the robot's name was, had been successful. It would appear that the high caliber tracer ammo was enough to penetrate the armor and take out what allowed the robots to transform.

Again, another problem. It was obvious that Ironhide was armored fifty times over what the yellow assassin robot had been.

He needed a plan.

xxxxxx

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Bryan sighed, opening the hanger door and stepped into the main room. He was slightly relieved to see that the Autobots weren't around.

"Welcome back." Kasey greeted him with a cheeky grin, before looking back at Sunstreaker's current temporary form who was holding a football in his hands.

Bryan introduced his parents to everyone before turning back to Kasey.

"Where are the others?"

"Ironhide brought Will home and will be back in a little bit. Optimus is out at the outlook sending a message. Ratchet is still in his medbay, but he's locked himself in again thanks to Ironhide. Jazz took Sam to his house to grab some things, and Barricade is... well, Barricade; who knows where the hell he ended up."

Bryan looked over his shoulder to see his Mother whispering to his Father who grunted a little. "The only regular sounded one in that bunch was Jazz." His father said, looking around the hanger. "This is where you're staying? Doesn't seem like much."

Bryan sighed, rubbing his temples and glaring at Kasey.

Both of his parents looked up when they heard rather look footsteps coming from one of the hallways. Bryan sucked in a breath and held it when he realized Ratchet had left his medbay.

The Autobot CMO was fiddling with something in his hands when he entered the main hanger. He didn't even look up from his project as he reached up onto a shelf, looking up only long enough to find what he was looking for before grabbing it and walking back into his medbay.

Bryan glared at Kasey who, to her credit was trying her hardest not to laugh at his parent's expressions.

Bryan father leveled a glare with his son. "Mind explaining?"

Bryan chuckled uneasily. "Heh, I fight with giant robots?" He offered sheepishly, jabbing Kasey with his elbow when she started laughing. "Come on." Bryan sighed. "I'll take you to actually meet him."

xxxxxx

Bryan held the door open as his parents filed in behind him, watching as the yellow medic used his saw to make a few precise cuts into the Autobot shell he was working on. Mikeala was crouched a few feet away from him. Bryan's parents blinked when they noticed that she was completely ignoring the oversized saw the robot was using only a few feet away from her as she worked on welding another part of the form.

Ratchet, detecting the new human presence in his medbay didn't bother to look up from his work. "What do you want now?" He asked, only look up when Bryan cleared his throat.

Ratchet stopped his saw when he realized there were two new humans in his medbay.

Bryan shifted a little, not from the CMO's gaze, but from how weird he felt having to say his next sentence. "Mom, Dad, that is Ratchet, medical officer to the Autobots."


	22. Parents

A/N: A boring day at work made me think about a possible soundtrack to this story. So, tracks and a few clips are posted up in my profile, including the song I would have used for the Bumblebee chase at the beginning of this story.

xxxxxx

"Medical officer?" Bryan's Dad echoed. "Sounds military to me."

"They are, in a way, Dad."

"Right." His Father sighed, shaking his head. "So you plan to tell me son that there is a giant robot army here in the US?" His Father leveled a glare with his son, only getting more intense when Mikeala spoke up from her spot. "Don't forget the alien part! That's the most important." She said, grinning under her welding mask.

Bryan turned to glare at her. "Thank you, Mikeala!"

Walking back into the main hanger, Kasey had pulled their new Crown Vic into the hanger bay and currently had a laptop hooked up to the car's LED light control system. Bryan ignored her, while his parents were now looking at Bumblebee.

"That would be Bumblebee. You rode in him on the way here."

"The Camaro?" His Mom asked, looking up at the Autobot spy who offered a small, sheepish wave in return. "He's very... small, compared to the other one."

Bumblebee stopped waving and Kasey rolled her eyes.

"Well he's supposed to be." Sam offered, moving around his friend's giant foot. "He is a spy, he needs to be small and maneuverable." Then looking up at the bot. "It's what makes him the coolest one here."

"Second only to Ironhide!" Maria called from her corner of the warehouse, a Guns and Ammo magazine across her lap as she kept her feet up on the table.

"And you would be?" Bryan's Father asked, looking at Sam.

"Sam Witwicky." Sam said, extending his hand to shake Bryan's Father's who didn't move at first until his wife gave him a slight elbow to the side. "Warren." She hissed under her breath.

"Warren Darke." He said, extending his hand and shaking Sam's. "It seems everyone around here has a military background. What about you?"

"Not much of one... I was temporarily recruited during the Mission City attack, that's about it."

"Experience is experience." Warren commented, looking over to Maria who still had the magazine across her lap, flipping through it lazily. "And what about you missy? They letting little girls in the military now are they?"

"Didn't give'em much of a choice." She snorted from her position, looking up she offered a half wave, half salute. "Maria Sanchez. I'm Mei's weapon specialist."

"Weapons specialist?" Warren shook his head. "I doubt that."

"Oh really?" Maria asked, setting her magazine down, looking up and squaring eyes with Bryan's Father. "Ask me anything."

"Alright, fine. Maximum effective range of a .50 BMG round?"

Maria snorted. "Childs play." She grinned. ".50 BMG, is a 12.7 by 107 millimeter round and is used in the fifty caliber machine gun, also known as the Browning Machine Gun _and_ is used in the fifty caliber sniper rifle, mostly in the Barrett M82 and the Armalite AR-50. The BMG has a maximum effective range of One-Thousand Five Hundred up to Two Thousand meters. And, like all long range weapons, you have to adjust for wind and armor."

Bryan, standing behind his father, just grinned; his Father's mouth opening and closing for a few moments before he sighed, defeated. "You think she's bad? Mei's worse."

"Looks like she gave you a run for your money, Warren." Bryan's mother joked, grinning at her husband.

"Hmm, she's good, I'll give her that."

"Damn strait." Maria snorted, turning back to her magazine, ignoring the glare from Warren as she grinned to herself. She checked her watch when Bryan's Father turned away, realizing what time it was.

"Ironhide should have been back an hour ago... It's not like him to be late." She was about to say more, but the hanger door slid open and Barricade rolled smoothly in, Mei sitting in his passenger seat. When the Mustang stopped she stepped out, allowing the police car to transform.

"And that would be?" Warren asked, looking up at Barricade.

"That's Barricade, Dad. Just be nice to him, he isn't like the others. He won't hesitate to try and step on you."

"And why is that?"

Barricade glared down at Bryan's Father, red optics flashing dangerous. "Because I wasn't always as docile as I am now, fleshling."

Bryan sighed. "Yah, that's why."

Maria rolled her eyes, approaching the former Decepticon. "Mind if I borrow you for a bit 'Cade? I want to go check on something."

Barricade nodded slowly before transforming back into his cop car mode, engine revving when Maria climbed into his passenger side. He rolled out of the hanger and back towards the highway.

Bryan sighed, wondering how long it would be until everyone else returned to the hanger to meet his parents.

Life was pain in the ass.

Bryan, and just about everyone else present, jumped when the Crown Vic that Kasey had the lap top hooked up to let out a sudden loud buzzing noise, the same kind Bryan always used when going through an intersection.

"Sorry!" Kasey called, her ears still ringing having been closest to speaker.

Bryan changed his mind.

Life sucked.

Kasey was a pain in the ass.

xxxxxx

"Where are we going?" Barricade asked, merging onto the freeway, somewhat enjoying how most of the drivers within his line of sight slowed down seeing the police car behind them.

"To Will's farm. I'm worried, Ironhide is never late from his visits with them. Besides, he isn't answer his comm.."

There was a pause from Barricade while he sped up, passing a few slower moving cars.

"Do you believe there is trouble at the Lennox Farm?"

"I have a feeling that something isn't quite right."

xxxxxx

"Huh... that's strange." Sara said, setting the phone back into the cradle, turning around to her husband. "Hey Will? The phone's dead."

"What?" Will asked, turning away from Ironhide's hologram and walking to where the phone was hung on the wall. Picking it up he tapped the lever a few times, seeing if it clicked back on. When it didn't he glanced to Ironhide's hologram, which was sitting on the floor pretending to be interested in Annabelle's toys as the child played with him.

He looked up when Lennox looked over at him, glancing over his shoulder at his truck form before looking back a Will, a slight nod was all his response was.

"Hunny, why don't you take Annabelle into the _basement_." Will said, moving to reach up into a air vent in a high corner of the room, removing the grating and pulling out a shotgun.

Sara wasted no time tugging Annabelle. "Come on hunny, lets go see what's on the TV downstairs."

When they were out of the room, Will turned to Ironhide's hologram. It was obvious the Autobot was straining his sensors.

"They have blocked my communications. It would appear we are isolated."

"How many?"

"_Too_ many."

"What are we going to do then?" Will asked, keeping his back to the wall as he flicked the light switch off and leaned to look out the window.

"I will protect you and your family at any cost." Ironhide answered simply.

Will shook his head. "_We_ will protect Sara and Annabelle at any cost." Will replied as calm as he could, looking over at Ironhide who nodded simply before disappearing, the engine of the Giant 4X4 outside roaring to life with his headlights.

Will grinned. "Bring the rain."


	23. Flight or Flight

"Something is wrong here." Maria whispered when Barricade rolled to a stop outside Will's house.

All the lights were off inside, and from Maria could tell, there was no movement coming from inside the house. She climbed out of Barricade, her hand on her holster while she walked up to the front door.

It was already open slightly. Maria reached for and clicked on her flashlight as she unholstered her sidearm, holding it in front of her as she took the first step in. She looked around the living room, finding that the light switch didn't work and the table was turned over.

She had to steady herself a little, seeing the first of many bullet holes in the wall.

"Police department!" She called out. "Anyone here?"

She heard a light ruffling coming from the dining room. She took her time getting there, checking corners as she went. Coming into the dining room she tried the light switch again.

No luck.

She shined her flashlight around.

"Jesus..." She gasped slightly. "Will!" She said, holstering her weapon and putting her flashlight into her mouth as she moved to pull the toppled cabinet off her friend. She checked his pulse before she reached for her radio.

"Officer in need of assistance!"

xxxxxx

"_Officer in need of assistance!"_ Maria's voice came from the radio, causing everyone to look at each other while Mei reached for her radio.

"What's the situation?"

"_I'm at Will's house. He's hurt - bad. I've got no sign of Ironhide nor Sara or Annabelle. I need medics, a-sap. Back-up would be nice too!"_

"Copy!" Bryan said, already grabbing the car keys for the Crown Vic while Mei ran to retrieve Ratchet from the med-bay.

Bryan looked into the rear view mirror when he heard the back door of the Crown Vic open and shut when he started the engine. "Get out of the car, Dad! I don't have time to argue with you!"

"Then just drive!" His Father shouted back, reaching to the front seat of the Crown Vic to grab the shotgun from it's rack. "Don't worry about me."

Bryan sighed, with no time to argue, he would have to drag his father along.

xxxxxx

"Hang in there, Will. They're almost here." Maria said, hearing the approaching sirens. She ran back outside, telling the others where Will was. With him receiving the medical attention he needed, Maria was able to look around the scene.

Ratchet had arrived after the first ambulance had, and was currently inspecting a rather large size of burnt Earth, oddly enough, it was faintly glowing a translucent blue.

"What is it?" She asked, walking up behind him. The Autobot medic just continued to study the ground. "It is energon. Ironhide is injured."

"Can you tell how bad?" Mikeala asked.

"There is enough here that I can tell he has suffered a decent sized wound. But judging by where the energon has pooled and that there is tire marks around it, he was wounded in his vehicle mode."

"He wasn't in his battle mode?" Maria asked, tilting her head to the side. "That's odd... I mean, if there was a fight, he would defidently be in battle mode."

"Which really makes you think, huh?" Bryan asked, coming up behind them all.

"It obvious, actually." Maria stated, starting to make a run for Barricade. "He's got Annabelle and Sara with him! That's why he couldn't fight! We find him, we find the girls! Lets go!"

xxxxxx

"Ironhide?" Sara asked, still ducking down the passenger seat while the truck sped on the freeway.

"What?" Was the gruff reply. The Autobot paying more attention to the black SUVs following him then any conversation Sara wanted to carry on at the moment.

"You're injured." She stated. "We should call for help."

"They are still jamming my radio communications. We will need to find the others."

"Can't we just go to the base?"

"Too risky. I know Barricade likes to patrol around here with Mei. And Optimus takes this route when he goes to the clearing."

"But, Ironhide, you're hurt."

"I am fine. I have suffered worse wounds then this."

"Do you... do you think Will is okay?"

There was a pause. "I... I do not know."

Ironhide did his best to keep a decent space between him and his pursuers. If it had been a regular day with him and Will, he would have happily transformed and took them all out.

But right now he had Will's wife and kid to worry about.

Ironhide did a quick scan or the area around him, just in time to notice a red Corvette parked a little further up the road. As he neared it, Ironhide flashed his lights and blared his horn, passing it at close to ninety miles an hour.

He was quick relieved to see the headlights of the Corvette turn on as the engine started. It wasn't long until the car was side-by-side with Ironhide.

"_I've got you."_ Sideswipe said over the radio. _"Just keep your speed, I'm going to pull ahead and transform. I'm calling Ratchet now, just stay with me."_

Ironhide didn't respond, instead he swerved a little; a side effect of energon loss.

He forced himself to focus as Sideswipe pulled ahead of him before the bright red Corvette slammed it's breaks, pulling a one-eighty, it's door flying open in the process to let Anna scramble out before he transformed, leveling a glowing plasma cannon with the cars chasing Ironhide.

With blue optics narrowed and an extremely evil smirk on his face, Sideswipe stressed every chip in his body to make his aim dead on.

There'd be hell to pay for messing with Ironhide.

xxxxxx

Ratchet looked up for a moment before turning to the others. "I just received word from Sideswipe, he's located Ironhide and is engaging the hostile forces following him. I have his location!" The medic said, quickly transforming, allowing enough time for Mikeala and Mei to climb in before speeding off, the others quickly following.

xxxxxx

Ironhide groaned as he finally transformed, putting his good arm up to the shoulder that was still leaking energon all over the ground.

Ratchet would be furious with him.

Sideswipe was at his side quickly after attending to Sara and Annabelle. He helped Ironhide sit on the road, quickly looking over his wounds. "Jeeze, you look like you went fifteen rounds with Sunny." Sideswipe said, trying his hardest not to cause any more pain to the weapons specialist as he did a little first aid to the wound to stop the bleeding.

"So you're back, huh?" Ironhide asked, ignoring the pain in his shoulder.

"Yah, I'm back. I figured I'm not good to anyone on my own, might as well fight it out till the end."

"Don't think you're getting off free after a stunt like that. I'm still going to kick your aft."

"Nice to be back." Sideswipe chuckled, looking over his shoulder when he heard Ratchet's siren. "Looks like the cavalry has arrived."

"Primus." Ratchet said, eyeing the now lightly bleeding wounds on Ironhide. "Mikeala, help me with this."

Maria was standing at Ironhide's foot, glaring up at the large black mech. She didn't say anything, but it was obvious she was upset with him at best.

Bumblebee and Jazz took to scouting the surrounding area for any more hostile activity. "Looks like Sideswipe got them all." Bumblebee said, nodding towards a half-burnt out SUV overturned in the dirt.

"They were relentless to say the least." Jazz commented. "They shot up the house and then chased him down? A little excessive, don'tcha think?"

"Just a little." Bryan confirmed, looking around. He bent down, picking up a license plate that had been blown off one of the vehicles. "Jeeze." He said, showing it to Kasey. "Homeland Security." He said simply.

"So the government was chasing after Ironhide?" Maria asked, taking the plate from Bryan. "Treaty be dammed, that's for sure."

"That would be Optimus' call." Mei stated, watching Ratchet make some repairs on Ironhide. "For now, call in the local police and cordon off this area. It's a crime scene until we say otherwise."

"Yes, ma'am."

Mei sighed. "Shut up."

Everyone looked up when one of the officers going through the wreckage called out. "Hey! I've got a live one here! I need a medic!"

Mei pointed to Maria. "Follow them to the hospital and get a 'statement' when he's stable." And then in a low whisper. "By any means necessary."

"With extreme amounts of pleasure." Maria growled, stalking off to find Barricade.

xxxxxx

"If you do not sit still, I will offline you until I am done!" Ratchet growled. After some repairs in the field, Ratchet was sure that Ironhide was stable enough to get back to base and into his medical bay to finish the job. "I know you are anxious to find out about Will, but everyone already said they would tell you if there was any change. Now sit still!"

Ironhide decided it was better not to anger Ratchet any more for the time being. He knew he wouldn't be able to dodge any tools thrown at him in his current state, so instead he turned to watch the machine that was putting fresh energon into his system to replace what had been lost.

"The fact that you were still online when we found you means that you've already used up your luck for the day. Never mind the little extra boost you got when Sideswipe found you."

"Yah, yah." Ironhide sighed, waiting for Ratchet to finish.

"You did good today." Ratchet stated quietly, the anger having left his voice. "The girls are scraped, sure, but they're alive, that's the important thing."

"Yah, but Will-"

"Lennox knew the risks of distracting them in order to get his wife and kid out of the attack area." Ratchet said, cutting Ironhide off. "He is a soldier, Ironhide, just like you."

Ironhide growled, defeated.

xxxxxx

Bryan sighed, waiting to hear about Will and their detainee from Maria at the hospital. He sat, back to the wall, cleaning his pistol again. He knew, somewhere around the base, his mother was off talking with Kasey about what they had missed.

His father was a different story.

Currently, Warren was watching his son with eagle eyes from across the room. Wondering just what was going on inside Bryan's head. He sighed, getting up and crossing the room to sit next to his son.

"I, uh... I have to give credit where credit is due." He started, looking over at Bryan. "I didn't think you dealt with nearly as much as the past hour had showed me."

"It's a crappy world." Bryan sighed, setting his gun down on the tabletop.

"Well... after watching how fast everyone organized to go help a fellow soldier, you've proven that you can handle anything. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Dad." Bryan said, grinning slightly when Maria slammed the door to the hanger, tossing a handcuffed man to the ground.

"He's fine, according to the hospital. Though, since he deiced to kick at Barricade's dividing window, and spit on the seats, _and_ scream the entire way here, Barricade is itching to rough him up."

"An understatement unto itself." Barricade growled, walking into the hanger. Bryan chuckled and shook his head. "I'm sure if you asked _nicely_ Maria would clean you up."

All that did was earn him a glare from both Maria and Barricade and a chuckle from his Father.

"Right, anyway, what was he screaming about on the way here?" Bryan asked, picking the captive up off the ground, and with Maria's help, carried him to the holding cells.

"Nothing in particular. He just filled his lungs and let is out, over and over."

"Sounds like fun." Bryan sighed, uncuffing the man and tossing him into the cell. "We will wait for him to calm down before interrogation begins. I'm sure Ironhide will want first words with him."

"No shit." Mei said, leaning on the doorframe. "Hospital just called, Will is fine. He'll be released in a few hours. Am I correct to assume that you and Ironhide will want to go and pick him up?" She asked, nodding to Maria.

Maria nodded. "No wonder why you're higher ranking than me." She snorted. "You just so perceptive."

"Shut up." Mei laughed, walking out of the room.


	24. New Appearences

They all sat around the table, thinking of things to do next.

"Any ideas?" Kasey asked, looking around the group.

"Well. We can't move on Simmons. He's under military protection right now, so even if we want to get him, we have to bide our time with him." Mei stated, tossing her pen onto the table, sighing heavily and rubbing her temples.

"Yah," Maria picked up. "But that doesn't mean we have to leave his associates alone."

"Associates?" Anna echoed, looking over at Maria.

"Yah, while you were gone, we found out that Simmons has ties to an organization in Las Vegas that has ties to an assassins nest in Hartford." Mei stated, leaning forward.

"That's our ticket." Bryan said, tapping his own pen on the table. "We will need to get Optimus' approval, but I think we should split into two teams. One stays here and watches things on this end, while the other goes an investigates this place in Connecticut."

"Why not the base in Las Vegas?" Mei asked, sitting back, amused.

"Because," Bryan stated, equaling her look. "It's obvious that the main leader is located in Las Vegas. We can't touch him if he has ties to Simmons since he too will be under military protection. But, if we stir up the nest in Hartford, we can get a few higher ups on our side, thus opening the door for LV and Simmons."

Kasey nodded. "Alright, you said to split the teams in two. Who's going where?"

"Well... obviously Me and you should go. We should also take Maria and Anna."

"Leaving me, Tyler, and; when he's back to active duty, Will."

"Right." Kasey said, nodding, then turning to Bryan. "Who should we take as far as Autobots go?"

"Well... I checked the forecast for most of Connecticut, it shows snow just about all over the state, so we'll need someone who can handle the bad weather." Bryan said.

"So obviously we're taking Ironhide." Kasey stated.

"Right." Bryan nodded, sighing. "Hmm, we'll obviously need Ratchet; which means Mikeala will want to go too."

"Bumblebee and Jazz are better for warmer weather. We'll leave them here." Mei said. "You can take Barricade."

"Right." Bryan nodded. "And since we're going against assassins we'll need the twins."

"Yah, but a Viper and a NSX in the snow?" Anna asked, looking around.

"They can handle it." Bryan said, writing something down and nodding. "Who wants to talk to Optimus?"

"I'll do it." Mei said.

xxxxxx

"You wish to take three or my best, plus Ratchet cross country?" Optimus asked, looking down at Mei who currently was doing her best not to look away from those accusing optics.

"That is correct." Mei said, nodding.

"And your intentions are to take on part of Agent Simmons' group?"

"Correct again." She said, nodding again. Optimus sighed, thinking for a moment again. "Okay, you may take them. But on one condition."

"What is that?" Mei asked, starting to feel her neck cramp up.

"They must be in radio contact with me at all times."

"Done and done."

xxxxxx

"If you keep moving around Ironhide, I'm going to have Ratchet do something evil until I am done." Mikeala sighed, currently laying in a semi-awkward position on the mech's chest while working on some of the smaller wiring that Ratchet couldn't get to.

Said medic was currently watching Mikeala was a bemused look on his face.

"It's not funny." Ironhide growled, looking the other way. "Girl gets more and more like you every day. It's scary."

Mikeala rolled her eyes, paying more attention to what her hands were doing then anything else. She still recalled the last time she had been working on this set of wires that she had accidentally moved to far to the right or left and accidentally found out that Ironhide was, in fact, ticklish.

Imagine her surprise.

She sighed, sitting up. "All set." She said, pulling the grease rag from her belt loop. Ratchet looked over, scanning her work.

"Very nice, Mikeala." He said, nodding in his own agreement, waiting for her to move into his hand before adding. "I like how you spliced the wires so that when he activates his cannons, he gets a shock."

"She did what?!"

xxxxxx

Bryan cringed outside the medbay, hearing Ironhide yell something other than one of his usual Cybertronian based profanities, he wondered to himself just what was going on behind those closed doors.

He took a moment to re-gather his nerve before sighing. "Fuck it. Maria can tell him." He said, shaking his head and walking away.

He knew better than to deliver news to Ironhide while in the medbay.

xxxxxx

"We're not going to drive there, are we?" Anna asked, looking over her shoulder at Sideswipe who, currently, shared the same look she had on her face.

"Nope, I've got a military transport plane arriving in a few hours. We've got a stop or two we'll have to make to refuel, but we'll be flying into Bradley International Airport some time tomorrow. It's located right in the Hartford area, so we'll be right where we need to be." Kasey said, checking over her bags. "Plus the plane is good enough to hold all of our friends." She added, pulling the straps tight. "Though I think Ironhide will have to be carried by the plane via cable." She said, laughing to herself.

"Alright, what's today 'pick on Ironhide' day?" Maria asked, sighing and shaking her head. Sideswipe shrugged. "Everyday is 'pick on Ironhide' day."

Tyler rolled his eyes and shook his head, turning to Mei. "Maybe we should have Optimus go with them."

Mei just sighed and banged her head lightly on the table.

xxxxxx

Hours Later

xxxxxx

Bryan sighed, leaning back against the cold wall of the plane. Problem with military transport planes was that they removed a lot of the luxurious things to make way for personnel and equipment.

This meant decent seating and covered walls.

Though it would appear that Maria had the right idea when she had opted to sit in Ironhide's cab, the Autobot allowing heat to flow into his cab as he talked quietly with her over his speakers.

Kasey had busied herself with her laptop and her headphones, pausing every once and a while to change tracks.

Bryan looked over to Ratchet who was guiding Mikeala through a few minor touch ups on Sunstreaker's new form. Bryan knew she wanted to put decals onto Sunstreaker's new form, but with the rocking of the plane it would be extremely hard to do.

Barricade had forced himself into stasis in order to keep from going completely bored, so he was either oblivious to, or didn't care that, Anna was currently reclined in one of his seats, sleeping as well.

Bryan sighed, letting his head fall back to the cold wall of the plane, just as the pilot's voice came over the plane's PA system.

"_We're forty minutes out from BDL. Prepare for landing."_

xxxxxx

"Holy shit it cold!" Kasey shivered, pulling her jacket tighter around herself, shifting her weight from one foot to another while waiting for Ironhide to finish backing out of the plane so she could jump into his heated cab.

It was actually kind of funny to see the Autobots bobbing on their suspension as the felt the cold air around them.

"This particular weather will not fair well for some of our systems." Ratchet stated while Mikeala climbed in. "We will need to monitor our systems for the time being to make sure of optimum operational status."

"If it helps," Bryan began, sitting in Barricade's driver's seat. "The hotel we are at has an underground garage. So you guys will have some heat for while you're sleeping and stuff." He said, hoping that Barricade had, in fact, opened a comm. channel and that he wasn't just talking to himself.

"Also," Kasey's voice came over the radio, from Ironhide. "The local police force, outside of the Connecticut State Police, do not know of our presence. So everyone must be on their best behavior."

"This means you Sideswipe and Sunstreaker!" Ratchet scolded over the radio.

"If I didn't know any better, Sunny, I'd say Hatchet doesn't trust us to behave." Sideswipe said, sounding amused.

"Don't know why. We haven't ever given him a reason not to."

Bryan could just imagine the medic rolling his eyes.

"Anyway, the hotel is marked on your maps. We should head their first and get settled in. We have a meeting with the chief of the State Police as well as our local military advisor." Kasey stated, still working the shivers out of her voice. "Also, Barricade, you'll need to change your decals to match the local police. I don't think a CHP star is going to work around here."

"Noted."

xxxxxx

"We are being followed." Ironhide growled out over the comm. channel.

"I see'em." Sunstreaker said. "The blue truck with the white stripes, right?"

Bryan looked in Barricade's mirror, noting the semi-light blue BMW X5 SUV with the single white stripe going down the middle. IT was following at a safe distance. The driver appeared to be female, wearing an attire resembling that of her car's paint job. Dark glassed covered her eyes. Bryan also noted that there were red and blue flashers mounted on the vehicle's grill. "What do you think?" He asked over the radio. "NSA?"

"I don't think so." Anna replied, also watching the vehicle.

"I'm detecting a signal coming from that vehicle, but I can't identify it." Ratchet broke in.

"Same here." Ironhide added a moment later.

Bryan kept a keen eye on their follower, watching for any signs of -well- anything. He sighed, about to take his eyes off the car when all of the sudden, for a split second, the driver _flickered_ out.

"-the fuck?" Bryan whispered. "Uh guys? The driver just... flickered."

And just like that the SUV sped up, gaining on them with great speed. Ironhide was already over the radio. "Incoming! Evade!"

All of the vehicles in the convoy swerved out of the way of the speeding vehicle. Ironhide was back on the radio. "Barricade follow me! Everyone else head for the hotel, make sure you're not followed!"

Even if Ironhide hadn't given the 'order', Barricade would have chased the vehicle anyway.

xxxxxx

The BMW swerved out of traffic, flashers blinking alternately as it's siren screamed for traffic to get out of the way. It slowly became obvious that the BMW was leading them to a secluded area as it hit the highway and took off fast, quickly taking the exit all the way across the highway.

The X5 took a sharp turn onto some train tracks, speeding off with Ironhide and Barricade in pursuit. The chase had lasted another twenty minutes before they found themselves coming to a large field, just outside of Hartford, but away from any civilian population.

Just as fast as the chase had started, it had ended with the X5 slamming it's brakes and coming to a complete stop. Bryan was already out of Barricade, weapon draw. "Police department. Get out of the vehicle now!"

He was about to yell again when he noticed the sound of a transformation starting, only it wasn't Ironhide or Barricade.

The driver of the X5 blinked out as panels started shifting, gears grinded, and gyros whirled as the X5 transformed. Bryan noted that the transformation was a little slower then the others.

Ironhide had started his transformation the same time as Barricade, and was now telling everyone to step back while his cannons came to life.

The X5 had finished it's transformation and was now holding a glowing rifle in it's hands, even as it's frame seemed to shift to the side a little as if it was injured.

Now that he was able to think a little more clearly with his Autobot back up at the front line, he noticed that this new robot had a striking female appearance.

Even though 'she' had blue eyes, the others hadn't taking their sights off her yet. The rifle was charged, as well as Ironhide's cannons.

The air was tense up until the point where the femme robot sagged a little, letting out a rasping breath before falling onto one knee, the rifle hitting the ground hard as she used it to hold herself up. Ironhide powered down his cannons, taking a cautions step towards the robot.

Bryan noticed that her optics were flickering on and off and each time they were off, Ironhide didn't move. He tried to think of what was going on when the femme sudden offlined, her form slamming into the ground with a thud before Ironhide had a chance to catch her.

For the first time since he'd know the Autobot Weapons Specialist, he saw sincere concern in his actions as he quickly made it to her side, already calling Ratchet over the comm. system.

xxxxxx

A/N: Heh, I had to end it there. Most of you most likely already figured out who it is, but I won't come out and confirm nor deny anything just yet. This maybe my last update for a little bit. I leave for Alberta, Canada on Monday and won't have much access to the internet for posting, so you'll have to just wait and see. I'll do a little writing on the plane and from my hotel, but I won't have net access.

I'll be returning on January 13th, so I'll try and post something then.

Have fun trying to figure it out.

Oh! And I'm trying to do a little improvement on my original characters and their styles and personalities. So in the event you review, and I really hope you do, please, tell me who your favorite OC is and what you like and dislike about them. Thank you all for the feedback I hope to receive.


	25. Blue n' White

It had been slow going to say the least.

The past few hours, they had all be ushered away by Ratchet while he worked on, what Anna could only describe as their 'blue and white, obviously Ironhide related, mystery guest'.

Bryan had shook his head the first time he heard it, but now it kinda made sense. After all, it was only after Ironhide had gotten a good look at their newcomer did he power down his beloved cannons.

And Ironhide _never_ powered down his cannons.

And, as far as Bryan and Kasey were concerned, that had raised some major red flags with them. But for now that did as told by the Autobot medic. The exact words, if Bryan remembered right were; "stay out of my way of else I will find a way to weld you to something", to which Mikeala had been nice enough to point out that "he's not joking".

At the medic's request they had slowly moved the offlined bot towards an old, deteriorating, train repair house; where they currently sat outside the main garage, an oversized set of steel doors hiding Ratchet and Mikeala from prying eyes while they worked to assess and repair the damage of the newest bot.

Ironhide hadn't moved from his spot since they had arrived and had been removed, with moderate force, from Ratchet's makeshift med bay.

"So is it safe to say that Ironhide _and_ Ratchet both know this other Autobot?" Anna asked, finding herself sitting on Sideswipe's leg.

"Me and Sunny know her too. It's Chromia."

"Who?" Bryan asked, looking at the two.

"Ironhide's sparkmate." Sunstreaker answered.

"Sparkmate?" Bryan echoed, looking over at Anna who jumped down from Sideswipe's leg and out of his sight.

"Kind of like the Autobot version of marriage, right?" Kasey asked, looking up at Sunstreaker who thought for a moment before nodding.

"Okay... so Chromia is Ironhide's sparkmate and, currently, is undergoing heavy repairs by Ratchet and Mikeala. So where does this leave Ironhide?" Bryan asked, looking around him.

"Well..." Sideswipe started, pausing for a moment. "Normally, sparkmates share a bond. Similar to the one me and Sunny share. They can feel, communicate, even find each other through that bond. But... by the look of things? It's been so long since they've had contact with each other that their bond has either broken down, or is too weak to carry a signal. Otherwise, all the work that Ratchet is doing on her now, Ironhide would be feeling."

Maria cast a look at the door hiding Ratchet's makeshift medbay. "Aw, man. Poor Ironhide."

"It's not permanent, but, it will defidently take some time to fix." Sunstreaker said, nodding, before his attention turned towards some overgrown grass, his eyes narrowing.

"What?" Bryan asked, hand on his holster while he looked in the same direction.

"There's a kid spying on us from the grass." Sideswipe said, moving to stand. Bryan and Kasey were already running in the direction Sideswipe had pointed in, watching as the grass moved and the kid fled.

They took off after him, chasing the kid the short distance into the edge of the city limits. They had lost a little ground when the kid started running through a small crowd.

xxxxxx

"Let me out here!" Anna said to Sideswipe, jumping out of the Autobot a block away from where Kasey and Bryan were chasing the kid. They had gone the semi-long way around, hoping to head the kid off somewhere in between.

But now Anna had a different plan. "Keep going and pick up Bryan and Kasey, I've got a plan!" She called over her shoulder, running off into a back alley, making sure to pull her jacket close enough around her to hide her holster as she pounded the pavement to get in position.

She found an access alley to the main street where Kasey and Bryan were chasing the kid through a small crowd that walked the sidewalk. She poked her head out long enough to gauge the kid's speed before ducking back behind the wall, pressing her back flat to it.

She steadied herself, timing it just right she reached out and grabbed the back of the kid's black hooded sweatshirt, pulling him into the alleyway with her and pushing him flush to the same wall she was on just in time for Bryan and Kasey to run past them both.

She knew the twins would be smart enough to fill them in when they met up.

"Want to tell me why those two were chasing you?"

"Déjeme ir!"

"Don't start acting like you don't speak English!"

"Vete a la mierda, me dejó va!"

Anna grit her teeth, growling out of frustration. She thought for a moment before glaring at the kid still in her grasp, making sure to keep herself between him and the main street.

"Escucha mí usted poca mierda! Estoy en ningún humor para su boca! Usted no va a contestar a mi pregunta ahora y a no más de labio. Dígame porqué apenas tuve que ahorrar su asno de un par de los perros del gobierno!?" She growled out, startling the kid when he realized she had understood every little thing he had just said to her.

The kid stopped trying to pull away. He looked at her for a moment before blurting out his next words. "No sé cualquier cosa, me dejé voy! Mire, conseguí veinte dólares pagados de algún tipo en un juego para salir al campo y para mirar algún edificio y para decirle qué vi, yo no sabía cualquier cosa sobre esos individuos o las robustezas, juro!"

Anna thought for a moment. If someone in a suit had actually paid this kid to go and spy on them in the field, that meant that someone knew they were in Hartford... that meant someone knew where they were stationed in the field!

She quickly pulled out her wallet, pulling out some money. "Aquí están cincuenta dólares, cabrito. Va el estrecho a casa y no va de nuevo a ese hombre y no le dice lo que usted vio! Él le matará, usted entiende? Ahora, consiga!" She yelled at him, handing him the cash before running out into the street, flagging down Sideswipe as he rolled past her.

xxxxxx

"We need to get moving as fast as we can guys! Someone knows we're here repairing Chromia! It's only a matter of time before they come looking for us! They kid got paid to come and watch us, I told him to head home and not report back, but you know how kids are!"

She growled when she leapt out of Sideswipe, running towards Ironhide. "Tell Ratchet we need to haul some serious ass!"

xxxxxx

Mei sighed, rubbing her eyes as she looked over the last of the paperwork. "This so isn't what I signed up for. Field work is fun, paperwork sucks." She looked around her area. Optimus was a little ways away, looking over an datapad that Jazz had delivered a little while ago.

She studied the Autobot leader for a few moments before putting her pen down and stretched a little, hearing the bones in her back pop a little. "I'm exhausted of this paperwork. Hey, Optimus, what do you say we head out and find something a little more interesting to do?"

The Autobot leader didn't answer at first before he looked over at her. "What is it that you had in mind?"

Mei sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know. Just anything that is outside of these walls."

"Well... Captain Lennox is due to be released from the hospital soon. Maybe we should be there to greet him."

Mei grinned, nodding. "Sounds like a plan to me."

xxxxxx

"We can't go to the hotel if they know we're here." Bryan stated. He had found himself sitting in Sideswipe while they left the field and split apart while trying to figure out what to do next.

"_Right."_ Kasey replied over Sideswipe's radio. _"And we still need a spot where Ratchet and Mikeala can finish repairs."_

"_That's it!"_ Anna called over the radio. _"The airport had an old hanger on the outskirts of the airfield. I noticed when we landed that it looks like it hasn't been used in a while. We'll have to contact our local military advisor, but we could use that hanger."_

"_I saw it too." _Kasey confirmed. _"It would be perfect. It's far enough outside the main operations terminal that we wouldn't be in the way."_

"Alright," Bryan said, nodding as he relaxed slightly in Sideswipe's seat. "Lets make it happen."

"_Already calling our advisor."_ Maria stated, obviously still listening in slightly from Ironhide. He had currently taken on the form of a flatbed tow truck, Chromia's vehicle form strapped onto the bed of the truck form. Maria knew it was bothering Ironhide to be in the current situation he was in. His sparkmate in need of repairs before he even got a chance to really see her after so many years apart.

Silently, Maria wondered just how long it had been since Ironhide had seen Chromia. She would imagine that it would have had to have been an extremely long time if, as Sideswipe had pointed on, their bond had been broken or had been weakened to the point to where Ironhide couldn't feel her anyway.

Pulling herself from her thoughts she realized that Ironhide had pulled to a stop at a gas station, just idling in an out-of-the-way parking space. It was also then that she realized she had been gently stroking the steering wheel while lost in her thoughts. She stopped the movement, looking through the back window at grill of Chromia's vehicle form. She had silently wondered to herself just what vehicle the female Autobot had scanned that had a set of emergency lights.

It didn't look like any government or police vehicle she had ever seen before. On the other hand, she supposed, that maybe the Autobot had changed her vehicle mode to blend in slightly better, if not make it that no one would ask questions.

She gave the steering wheel another stroke before pulling out her cell phone. Calling their military advisor.

xxxxxx

Across town, Anna and Sunstreaker had pulled off to the side of the road in order to talk and figure out the current situation.

"You know, I gotta admit, Sunstreaker, you're not as bad as Ratchet makes you out to be." Anna said with a chuckle, sitting back in the seat.

"Ratchet said what?" The Autobot warrior asked, earning himself another chuckles.

"You know Ratchet, always cursing about something. I think I learned more cybertronian swears from him then I ever did Ironhide."

"That'd be the Hatchet for yah." Came the quick response as Anna stepped out, leaning on the door and taking in the cold air.

"Quite the situation we're in, huh?" She asked quietly, knowing he could still hear her.

"Ah, I wouldn't say that. Me and Sides are used to being hunted down like this. We weren't exactly Decepticon favorites in the war. They hated us more then they hated Prime."

"Yah, well this is new to me." Anna replied, pulling a stick of gum from her pocket. "I mean, yah, I've been shot at before. Comes with the job. But now we've got an organization of assassins all looking for a chuck of our head?" She shook her head. "Just seems... I don't know, just slightly scary."

"Ah, you've got nothing to worry about. With me and Sides around? They won't touch you."

Anna chuckled at that, turning around and leaning on Sunstreaker's roof. "Good to know. So, Ironhide says you guys are Autobot Assassins, hmm? Sounds like a-"

Anna was cut off by the sound of an engine revving just down the street. She looked up just in time to see the white Escalade come speeding towards her. Without a second thought she jumped and rolled onto the hood, landing hard on the pavement on the other side of Sunstreaker.

She rolled off her back and onto her stomach, sidearm in her hands as she fired off three shots, shattering the back window.

She reached for her radio while running back to the driver's side door, getting in to Sunstreaker as the Autobot went after their attack.

"Hey guys! I'm in pursuit of a white Escalade. Damn thing just tried to-"

xxxxxx

"_-run me down!"_ Anna's voice came over the radio. Bryan didn't even flinch when Sideswipe spun his tires in the intersection, swinging around and speeding off towards his brother's signal, hearing Sunstreaker in the background of Anna's transmission saying something to the effect of 'pit spawned slagger hit my mirror!'.

At the next intersection Sideswipe drifted the turn, Barricade nearly clipping his read end as the cop car flew past him, sirens in full blast.

"_Ironhide, stay where you are!" _Ratchet called over the radio. _"We can't risk any more damage to Chromia. She is still in need of extensive repairs. Me and Mikeala are staying back to, we're not use to them in a chase."_

There was a growled confirmation over the radio. Bryan found himself grinning as they rounded the next turn, seeing Sunstreaker being followed by Barricade. Both were chasing the white SUV.

As they came to the next intersection the light had turned red just as the vehicle entered the crossroads, getting t-boned by a smaller compact car in the process.

"Holy fuck!" Bryan found himself yelling when Sideswipe threw himself into a sideways skid in order to stop being entering the intersection himself. Sunstreaker and Barricade had cleared the wreck, and were now turning around to come back and assist.

"We could use here you now, Ratchet!" Sideswipe called over the comm. system while Bryan quickly sprinted out of the driver's side door, weapon drawn as he approached the SUV.

The driver was out cold, his head having slammed against the steering wheel.

Ratchet had just arrived and was currently instructing Mikeala, via comm., how do assess and treat the injuries of the two in the compact car. Finding that neither were injured beyond bumps and bruises, Bryan made the next call.

"Everyone by scarce before the locals show up. Kasey, help me get this guy into Ratchet."

xxxxxx

Having heard from Maria, they had made their way back towards the airport and to their new base of operations. The hanger was cold, sure, but Ratchet had said he would fix the built in heater before working on Chromia since her, what Bryan kept calling 'vitals', were stable.

Pulling into the hanger, Sideswipe had started playing music over his radio, his brother, thought his ego injured, chuckled when he got the reference.

_Lookin' back, on the track, for a little green bag_

_Got to find just a kind, or losin' my mind_

_Outside in the night, outside in the day_

_Lookin' back, on the track, gonna do it my way_

_Outside, in the night, outside, in the day_

_Lookin' back, on the track, gonna do it my way_

Maria and Bryan both chuckled realizing the implications of the song blaring for Sideswipe's speakers. However, it would appear that Kasey was not amused.

"Sideswipe, shut it off, or I swear on everything holy I will start calling you Mr.-fucking-Pink for the rest of this investigation!" She yelled, jostling their prisoner a little before slamming him into a chair and handcuffing him down. She would wait for Ratchet to fix the heat and set up his privacy curtains before interrogating him.

She growled lowly under her breath. They had been compromised somehow, and she had her suspicions on to who it was who had compromised them, but without any proof it would take some time to prove it.

She grinned with their prisoner groaned in his seat, slowly starting to work the pain meds Ratchet had given him out of his system.

Maybe she'd have her fun yet.

xxxxxx

A/N: Sorry this took so long! I got back from vacation and had tons, and tons, and tons, and tons, or work to catch up with because no one else knows how to do my job right.

XD

Sorry guys. 2-11 is coming up, I promise to at least get something out if not on, the right after Super Bowl Sunday. Promise!

Oh, and if you don't get the reference to, what I thought to be, one of the greatest movies of all time, then I should really, really, really give you a tin foil hat to wear so we know who you are.

Also, I know the Spanish is probably almost completely wrong. I don't speak any Spanish at all, I used an internet translation service to translate it from the English I speak to the Spanish I don't, so if it's wrong, blame them.

Song Used:

Little Green Bag _by_ George Baker


	26. P W and RA

Ratchet sighed as he rubbing the cleaning rag over his hands before tossing it to the side and exiting from behind the privacy curtain he had set up to be able to work in peace.

He gave Ironhide a nod when the mech looked up at him with a worried glance. Again, Ratchet sighed, folding his arms over his chest.

"The worst of the repair work is done. Chromia is stable, but it'll take a little time for her self-repair systems to full repair her, but other than that she's in good condition." Ratchet said, pausing for a moment before adding. "But there were some oddities."

"What kind of oddities?" Ironhide demanded, standing up quickly, ignoring Sideswipe when the twin had taken a step forward to try and keep him calm.

"Nothing serious, Ironhide. It would appear that someone had already done some repair work on her. Me and Mikeala found some welding marks and wiring jobs that were not done by her self-repair system. But it wasn't done by any human mechanic either."

"Do you think she did it to herself when she landed and realized she was injured?" Sunstreaker asked, genuinely interested in what happened to Chromia. After all, she had help him numerous times in pranks against Ironhide, as well as saved his aft on the field.

Ratchet shook his head as an answer, thinking for a moment. "It's not likely. The places we found the marks in where all spots that would be extremely hard for her to reach in even her most healthy state. These had to have been done by another Autobot."

"First Aid?" Asked Ironhide, seemingly more relaxed.

Ratchet shook his head again. "I'd recognize his work, it's almost identical to mine. No... all the weld marks have a left sided tilt to them, and the splicing in the wires are all to the left, not to the right." There was a pause as he let the information sink in. "This almost looks like Wheeljack's work."

"Wheeljack?" Ironhide echoed.

"Hey, look at that, something he worked on didn't blow up for once." Sunstreaker quipped, completely ignoring the glare from his twin and Ironhide.

"What makes you say 'almost'?" Ironhide asked, turning his attention back to the medic.

"Because, he doesn't have the same resources he would on the ship or in my med bay, so some of the stuff looks improvised. But I'd bet what's ever left of Sunstreaker's high grade that Wheeljack did these repairs."

"So then... where is our resident engineer?" Sideswipe wondered aloud. "And why hasn't he contacted us?"

"Well, it's possible that he was damaged in his landing as well, but more likely, he sensed Starscream's presence before he was hacked and has decided to lay low." Ratchet supplied.

"Makes you wonder who else is around without us knowing about it." Ironhide said, moving past Ratchet to go sit next to Chromia as she laid on Ratchet's repair table, still in stasis.

"So..." Bryan spoke for the first time since the Autobot's had started talking. "How would we spot Wheeljack if he's around here?"

"Well that is simple." Sideswipe answered with a grin. "Look for a hole in the ground." But just as soon as the grin was there, it faded. "Wait... wasn't Wheeljack part of Prowl's company when we all left Cybertron?"

Sunstreaker mirrored his twin's expression. "Yes, he was. So was Red Alert."

"Prowl? Red Alert?" Anna said, looking up from her sandwich. "How many of you guys are there?"

"Before the war?" Ratchet started. "Over one-hundred. Now? Who knows, our numbers seem to dwindle by the days. But with nearly no Decepticon activity in the past few months, maybe things will finally even themselves out."

"Hey, you're missing the point!" Sunstreaker half yelled, half cried out. "Prowl may be on the planet! Sides, we've gotta hide!"

Ratchet chuckled to himself when the twins transformed and sped out of the hanger. Noticing the look on just about every human's face he added. "Prowl was always the first one to dish out a punishment whenever the twins pulled a prank."

Collective "ahs" sounded in the room.

xxxxxx

"Any new reports, Jazz?" Optimus asked, seeing his second in command pacing about the main hanger.

"Ratchet sent me one half an hour ago. He says that they found Chromia there. She's hurt, but she'll be okay. But he added to his report that they have one person in custody."

Optimus quirked an brow, his silent version of a drawn out 'and'.

"Oh, and Ratchet says that there had already been some repairs done to Chromia before he started work on her. He says they look like Wheeljack's doing."

Optimus nodded, there it was, the reason Jazz had been pacing.

"And Optimus, you know that if Wheeljack is around then-"

"I know." Answer the Autobot leader, nodding at the silver mech. "I hope the others find them soon. It would be good to see Prowl, Red Alert, and Wheeljack again."

Jazz nodded, understanding the underlying tone in Optimus' voice. "How is Will doing?" He asked, noticing that the Army Commander hadn't returning with Optimus.

"Will is currently at his home looking through some things. I sent Mei and Bumblebee out to help him. They also took Maya with them as well, they will return later." Optimus took a look around him. "Have you seen Bryan's parents?"

Jazz nodded towards the hanger's door. "They asked me to bring them into town to do some looking around and shopping. I gave them my comm. number and told them to call me when they were ready to return here."

Optimus nodded. "That is good." There was a pause before Optimus added. "You need not worry yourself, Jazz. I am sure that Prowl is just fine."

"I hope so."

xxxxxx

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker sat parked underneath a highway overpass, they had parked themselves there a little while ago and where now just talking amongst each other.

"So where do you think Prowl is Sunny? I mean, if Chromia is here, and she had work done on her by Wheeljack and Wheeljack was with Prowl when we left Cybertron, then where did Wheeljack and Prowl end up?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Bro." Sunstreaker said. "I've been search the internet for news articles that could be related to any of them, but nothing sticks out. That's probably Red Alert's work, he's probably worried about a Decepticon plot against them if they end up on the Internet."

That earned him a chuckle from Sideswipe. "Too true." There was a pause. "Does it feel weird to you too to have Barricade just hanging around?"

Sunstreaker rocked on his suspension. "It kind of does. But I mean... he doesn't seem like he used to on the battlefield."

Now it was Sideswipe's turn to rock on his suspension. "I know what you mean. Ever wonder if some of the Decepticons just ended up on the wrong side of things and only fought us because it was either us or them?"

"No." Came Sunstreaker's reply. "You and I both know that Prime was willing to take in anyone who defected. I'm willing to admit the fact that maybe, just maybe, Barricade wasn't as bad as some of the seekers were, but he was still a Decepticon, through and through."

"Think that the fact that his own brother was an Autobot deterred him one bit?"

There was a pause on Sunstreaker's end. "Maybe."

Sideswipe chuckled just as another vehicle pulled onto the street behind them.

Sunstreaker didn't scan the vehicle, but took a good look at it instead. It was a large black SUV, sporting a yellow stripe down each side and another yellow stripe on either side of the hood. It's most attention grabbing feature was the set of police lights mounted onto of the vehicle.

"Frag, Sides, human law enforcement has taken an interest in us." He sent his brother of the comm. link. He was now paying attention to the vehicle's driver, who was just sitting in the seat, grinning at the two exotic cars in front of him.

"Make a run for it, Sunny!" Sideswipe yelled over the comm., starting his engine and quickly speeding off. His brother was quick to follow, and it wasn't long until they heard the siren start up behind them as the vehicle started to chase.

xxxxxx

Anna nearly jumped when her cell phone suddenly shouted at her.

"_We're being chased by the cops!"_

Kasey looked over at her with a strange look. "That's a... interesting ring tone."

"And a new one." Anna answered, picking her cell phone off her belt, looking at it, seeing the words 'Connected: Sideswipe' on the screen. "Shit."

"_Hey, can you hear me! We're being chased by the police! What should we do?"_

Kasey grabbed the phone from Anna. "Bring them to the hanger, I've got an idea." She said, giving the phone back to Anna and turning to look at Bryan over her shoulder. "They're going to bring the cops here, we'll need to play the part of Military Police if we plan to make this work."

Bryan nodded to her, walking towards Ratchet's makeshift medbay. "Hey, Ironhide, we need your help with something." He then returning to the main area. "You too Barricade."

xxxxxx

The twins gave a sigh of relief when they made it to the air field and found that Ironhide and Barricade were sitting outside of the hangers in their vehicle forms, leaving enough space between them for the twins to get through and into the hanger. On either side of Ironhide and Barricade; Kasey, Anna, Maria, and Bryan had taken up positions, waiting for the twins to pass before they raised up their M4 rifles.

"Military Police! You do not have jurisdiction here! Turn around and head back!" Bryan yelled, his voice amplified by Barricade's loudspeaker.

The black police SUV came to a stop a few feet away from the blockade, the siren going silent with the lights still flashing. They kept close eyes on the cop sitting on the driver's seat, he was just staring back at them, a slight grin plastered across his face.

"Isn't it odd," Maria whispered to Bryan. "That a cop would chase them all the way here by himself and not once call for back up?"

"Very." He confirmed, raising his voice again for Barricade's PA to catch. "I repeat, turn back and do not proceed any further or we will use deadly force!"

The last thing he wanted to do was shoot at a cop. He prayed silently that he would just turn around and go back to HQ.

But that's when a new problem presented itself, pulling into the lot from the same gate the cop car had came in, was a white SUV sporting yellow security lights on top. This vehicle stopped next to the cop car, the driver had a paranoid look on his face like there were tons upon tons of other places he'd rather be.

Slowly, Bryan felt himself getting nervous. Just what was going on here?

And as if things were not odd enough, not a white HazMat Hummer truck had pulled in through the same gate and parked itself next to the police SUV, it's red lights flashing almost in sync with the cop car's.

"Final warning! Leave now or we will use deadly force!" Kasey called, giving a slight nod to Maria who nodding in return. She readjusted her grip on her rifle, steadying her aim by leaning slightly on Barricade's roof, she aimed at the grill of the police SUV, steadying her breathing as she waited for permission to take the shot.

Kasey herself was aiming at the lights on top of the security SUV, aiming from the middle where the spotlight was. While she knew Maria had no problem doing damage to property, she didn't want to do damage to the vehicle itself that couldn't be easily repaired since they would most likely be paying for it later.

Bryan gave them the nod.

Maria's bullet landed square center of the police SUV's radiator grill, the vehicle suddenly throwing into reverse and pulling back. Kasey's shot shattered the security spotlight on top of the security car, that vehicle also pulling back. The HazMat truck pulled into reverse as well, not wanting to take a shot too.

They thought they had won until suddenly, panels started shifting, gears whirled, and metal clanked as both SUVs and the HazMat truck started transforming.

"Ho-oh, shit." Kasey groaned, taking a few steps back from her cover behind Ironhide. "Robots? Ironhide, Barricade, your turn!"

Ironhide and Barricade did transform and draw weapons against the three other robots. There was a silence in the air before a single shot rang out. It had come from the chain gun attached to the police SUV turned walking robot. It had hit Ironhide in his knee joint.

The Weapons Specialist buckled slightly before striating up.

"Why you slag sucking son of a glitch! You know that knee joint hurts!" Ironhide yelled at the cop car, causing the four humans to look up at him in surprise.

"Aw, quite your whining 'Hide. It wasn't even a jacketed shot. You'll be fine." The police SUV retorted, lowering his weapon. The HazMat robot had done the same, but the security 'bot still had his weapon trained on Barricade.

"If anyone gets to complain," The police car continued. "It should be me! I'm the one leaking coolant here."

Maria groaned, slinging her rifle over her shoulder on it's strap. "I take it you all know each other?"

"Of course." Ironhide stated, looking down at them with a grin.

"And when were you going to tell us this?" Kasey asked, tapping her foot.

"What, and ruin all the fun?" Responded the Weapons Specialist.

"Sorry about shooting at you." Maria said, looking up at the cop robot.

"Eh, doesn't hurt too bad. I'll live." He then looked at the security robot. "Will you lower that weapon? Its obvious he's not hurting anyone!"

"He is still a Decepticon." Was the quick response.

"He isn't anymore. He's been helping us for some time." Bryan said quickly, taking a step away from Barricade just in case there was a sudden droid deathmatch.

There was a pause before the weapon was lowered. It was then that Kasey noticed the HazMat truck was studying them with extreme interest.

"Anyone else think a proper introduction is in order?" Anna said, poking Ironhide's foot. The black mech looked down at her before shrugging.

"This is Wheeljack, Prowl, and Red Alert."

xxxxxx

A/N: Check my profile for links to pictures of the vehicles I used for Wheeljack, Prowl, and Red Alert's new forms.


	27. Patterns

"I notice you've been watching that same video for over an hour now. What are you hoping to find?" Mei asked, looking over Tyler's shoulder. The tech had been watching the 'Starscream Suicide' video for the past hour, over and over.

"Well, I've been thinking." Tyler paused, glancing over his shoulder. "See, to overcome a problem, you need to understand what a perfect machine it is." He said, turning on the projector, pointing Mei's attention to it.

He called up a video of Ironhide driving towards the base.

"Most machines are just that, machines. However, our friends here have a human aspect to them. They feel, hurt, and think just like us. So, when I started to notice that each one has a certain... tick, to them. I started thinking." He paused the video. "We know that Ironhide has an issue with his left knee joint. It causes him to favor his left side when walking and he has a slightly left shift on his suspension while driving." Tyler said, pulling up a program on his computer that measured the shift in Ironhide's suspension.

"I get it. But what does this have to do with Starscream?"

"Well... that's just it. I was watching the footage again to see if there were any more clues that we don't have already. But the more I watched it, the more I realized that something just didn't feel right about it, something was off."

"You don't think it was him?"

Tyler shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, if it was Ironhide or Ratchet we were trying to analyze, it would be easier. We have tons and tons of security footage of them walking around the base and driving towards it. But Starscream? The only footage I have of him are flashes of News crew shots taken during Mission City."

Mei considered the information for a moment. "I know there is more to it then that, Tyler. You normally don't drive yourself nuts over small details like this."

"Well... there are a few things that are bothering about this footage." He said, calling up the Starscream video again. "I mean, what are the chances of that satellite being just the right spot at just the right time to capture this? And what was he doing all the way out by ADW?"

"ADW?" Mei echoed, looking down at the ground in thought. "Andrews Air Force Base... Maryland?!"

"Right." Tyler confirmed. "Why would Starscream be on the East Coast instead of over here trying to contact Barricade?"

"Wasn't Barricade the one who told us that Starscream had shot himself?"

"Correct again, Commandant. Decepticons, like the Autobots, are tied to their team mates through radio frequencies. So if Starscream sent out a distress signal, then Barricade would pick it up and know."

Mei considered the information before turning around and heading towards Jazz's room. "I think we need input from someone who knows more about this then we do."

xxxxxx

"Can't even drive to the base without getting yourself shot at. Unbelievable."

Prowl chuckled while he allowed Ratchet to repair the bullet hole on his chest plating. "Missed you too, Ratchet. Where are the others?"

"Optimus, Jazz, and Bumblebee are all back out our main base in Nevada. We ended up out here on a separate mission. When did you three land?"

"One month ago. We thought about sending out signals but feared they would be picked up by Decepticons before any of you would find us. We didn't know things were not as bad as we thought they were."

"Years of war can do that to you. I'm surprised Red hasn't blown any circuits."

"Oh he has." Prowl chuckled, checking over Ratchet's work. "Wheeljack has just been doing repairs on him is all. Repaired me once or twice too. Though I'll admit, it's nice to have a proper repair done for once."

Ratchet smirked, sitting back. "I'm sure it is."

"I take it you located Chromia? When we thought we had intercepted your signals she insisted on heading out to find out."

"We found her. Why was she out by herself with injuries like that?"

Prowl shook his head. "You know how she is, worse than Ironhide at times. Wheeljack said that so long as she didn't stress herself too much, she should be fine. But I figured she wouldn't listen."

Ratchet nodded, standing up and putting his tools away. "That is true. She followed us for a little bit before engaging Ironhide and Barricade in a chase."

Prowl nodded, looking around him. "Looks like none of you did too bad with your temporary base of operations. It looks quite... acceptable."

Ratchet just chuckled as he turned around and started cleaning off his tools. "Just make sure, that before anything else, you use the consol in the corner and contact Jazz. He hasn't stopped pacing since my last report according to Prime."

xxxxxx

"You know, the yellow lights are fine, but if you're going to fit the profile we already have going around here, you might want to change the words." Maria said, hands on her hips as she looked up at Red Alert. The words 'Security' written across his chest.

"I do not understand why. I am the head of Security. It is only rightful that I show my title."

"Alright, be that way. But you'll stand out in a crowd." Maria rolled her eyes, turning to walk away.

"More then any other six story walking robot?" Kasey quipped as she entered the hanger. "Hey, me and Bryan are heading into town to get some food. Any takers?"

Anna looked up from her usual perch on Sideswipe's foot. "I'm game. What about you Maria? Mikeala?"

"Count me in." The 'medic in training' called from the couch, putting her laptop on the table before standing up. Maria nodded along, reaching to pull her cell phone off it's charger. "Let's go."

Bryan had just walked into the hanger. "There's going to be five of us? I don't think we're all going to fit in Ironhide." He said, shaking his head.

"I'll go with you." Sideswipe said, transforming to his alt mode before anyone had a chance to agree.

xxxxxx

"Feels nice to be able to just sit back and enjoy the view for once, huh?" Mikeala asked.

They had found a nice diner in the middle of the city. The large window near the table gave an almost painting like view of the snow covered city.

"Easy for you to say." Ironhide, in hologram form, said, rolling his eyes. "You're not freezing your microchips off."

"Aw stop your whining old timer, it's not _that_ bad out." Sideswipe said, grinning as he sunk comfortably in his seat.

"Not all of us are parked on top of steam grate kid." Ironhide scowled before allowing himself to relax. They weren't here to fight each other.

"So, any news?" Maria started, pulling her cup of coffee closer to her, dropping in some sugar and cream.

Bryan shook his head. "We've got nothing. I'm still waiting for our advisor to show face at the hanger so we can get started. I'm giving it another day before we continue on without their approval."

"That's a great way for us to either get arrested or kicked back home." Kasey said, rolling her eyes when she pushed him playfully in the shoulder.

"But he is right." Anna added in his defense. "I mean, if we take too long to get moving, they'll figure us out and we'll all be dead and deactivated."

"Can we talk about something other than business?" Mikeala pleaded with the group, turning her gaze away from the window and back to her friends. "I'd like to think for once I'm not in a war that could easily take my, or anyone's life at a moments notice."

"Right." Anna agreed, turning her attention, and growing smirk, towards Ironhide. "So, Ironhide? Chromia's your wife, eh?" She giggled to herself. "What's that like?"

Ironhide's hologram rolled his eyes. "What do you mean 'what's it like'? What is it supposed to be like?" He grumbled, folding his arms over his chest.

"You know," Anna said, giving him a suggestive smirk.

"Oh, Anna! That's gross!" Kasey laughed, covering her eyes with one hand.

"What is?" Bryan asked, looking around. "I don't get it, what is she asking?"

"Don't even pretend you're clueless!" Mikeala laughed. "You know what she's asking."

"No I don't!" Bryan laughed, holding his hands up defensively.

"Anna wants to know about my and Chromia's-"

"Ironhide!" Maria half-snapped and half-laughed. "Don't spell it out for him!"

"So are you going to tell us, Ironhide?" Anna asked, leaning in with her chin on her hands.

"No." Ironhide said simply, deciding something outside was more interesting.

"I still don't know what she's asking." Bryan said, rolling his eyes as he took a sip from his soda.

"She's asking about how robots..." Kasey paused, looking for a correct translation that didn't outright say what they were all thinking. "How Autobots... bump bumpers."

Sideswipe sputtered before he started laughing hard. Bryan just stared at Kasey.

"That has to be the funniest thing I've ever heard!" Sideswipe gasped out, holding his side.

"Bumping bumpers?" Bryan chuckled, looking over at the laughing mech.

"No, not that. The part about how Ironhide gets to 'bump bumpers' with someone!" He laughed, ducking the glare and salt shaker Ironhide had tossed at him.

Bryan rolled his eyes. "I don't think _anyone_ in a thousand planet radius wants to hear about Ironhide's," he lowered his voice "'bumper life'." Looking over at Anna he added. "Except for Anna."

Laughter filled the table and Mikeala couldn't help but join in. It appeared to be the first true laugh they had been able to have in a very long time.

"So," Anna started again. "Ironhide, going to tell us or not?"

Ironhide was about to answer when the sound of an explosion outside shattered the glass of the window and had everyone thrown from their chairs.

Bryan had been the first one back on his feet. He ignored the stinging of blood in his eyes as he whipped it away with the sleeve of his shirt. Being able to see better now he looked around, seeing that each of his team members was slowly getting back to their feet with the help of Ironhide and Sideswipe.

"What the fuck," Kasey gasped out, checking herself for wounds. "was that?"

Bryan whipped a fresh trickle of blood from his sight, looking outside. "Car bomb." He responded, looking around the entire diner. People were slowly getting back to their feet. "Everyone okay?" He said, looking back at his team.

Anna was still sitting on her knees, coughing violently, Maria was at her side. "She was closest to the window." The weapons specialist reported. "She's just trying to work that shockwave out of her system."

"Everyone looks fine." Kasey said before she turned to look at Bryan. "Jesus, Bry! You've got a nasty cut." She said, pulling some napkins from their holder and pressing them to his forehead.

Sirens could be heard in the distance already.

"I've contacted Ratchet." Ironhide stated. "He's on his way. Prowl and Wheeljack are coming too."

"I take it that Sunny and Red Alert are hanging back to keep the base secure?" Sideswipe asked, crouching down to help Anna clear her lungs. Ironhide simply nodded, looking outside. He used his sensors to scan the street. "I don't detect any casualties on the street. Looks like we were lucky."

"Lucky?" Mikeala growled out. "Lucky would have been nothing happening at all."

No one answered her as they heard Ratchet pull up on the street, his holoform already sprinting towards the diner. Just as he hit the doors, a second explosion sounded and his holoform disappeared.

"What the fuck!" Bryan yelled out, quickly throwing himself to the ground as the second explosion ripped through the street.

"Another car bomb!" Sideswipe reported. "This one was delayed. I'm running scans on every car in the street to check for more."

Bryan nodded, slowing getting back to his feet.

"Ratchet!" Mikeala yelled out, rushing into the street towards the overturned H2 Hummer.

Everyone was quick to follow her out to check on their friend and medic.

"You alright, Ratchet?" Mikeala asked, putting her hands to the cool metal of the rescue hummer.

"I'm fine, Mikeala." He reported. "Though it seems that the blast has damaged some of my sensors and a few other things."

"Anna!" Maria called from her spot behind the second exploded car, she was kneeing in the snow. "I've got one wounded!"

Anna was running over before Maria had finished the sentence. Bryan looked at Ironhide. "We need to get Ratchet turned upright so we can get that guy to the hospital."

Without any verbal answer, the black truck pulled up next to Ratchet, Ironhide's hologram grabbing a tow cable from the truck bed.

"Have a damage report for me Ratchet?" Mikeala asked as she kept her spot at his side. More sirens had just been shut off as Prowl and Wheeljack arrived on scene. Their respective holograms running up to the overturned medic.

"Blast did a number on you, Ratch." Wheeljack said in slight awe. "Man, I thought my blasts did some damage. Are you okay?"

"I've got damaged range sensors, my GPS has been knocked offline, and my hologram admitter has been damaged and will need to be replaced. Other than that, I just want to be back on my own tires."

"We'll worry about that later." Wheeljack said, looking over at Maria who was calling his name. The engineer made his way over to her before running back to Ratchet. "I need to get the stretcher from your rear." He said, not waiting for an answer as he swung the doors open.

Barricade slid to a stop next to Prowl's vehicle form. He got out and started to survey the damage. Figuring out from radio messages what had taken place, he started to do extensive scans on each car and building in the area for more hazards.

They had managed to hook the tow cable around Ratchet so that when Ironhide went in reverse, the medic would be rolled back onto his tires. Ironhide put himself into reverse, rolling Ratchet back onto his tires just in time for Wheeljack and Maria to come running with the slightly bloodied stretcher.

Ratchet threw open his doors again, allowing them to load the wounded man into the back. "Prowl, I need you to use your internet connection to find the nearest hospital."

"Already done." Prowl reported. "Hartford Hospital is a few miles away. I'll lead you there." He said, disappearing just as his engine started again.

Bryan climbed into Prowl's passenger side as the Police SUV pulled ahead of the Hummer and waited for Ratchet to activate his light bar before starting on.

xxxxxx

Anna had her cell phone pressed to her ear as she started pulling dressings and IV lines out of their places in Ratchet's back. Lucky, even when the medic was flipped on his hood, everything was latched down tight.

Hearing someone answer on the other end, Maria started talking. "I need you to write all this down for me!" She said, getting confirmation from the nurse at the ER she started. "I've got a middle aged white male, caught in a car bomb explosion, trauma to the head, third degree burns to most visible areas, he also has-" She was about to say more when Anna suddenly called over to her.

"He's going into VTac! Grab the AED!" She said, pointing to one of Ratchet's draws that was sporting a red heart with a lightning bolt going through it. Maria pinned her phone between her ear and her shoulder, pulling the box out and handing the leads over to Anna who was quick to attach them. They turned the machine on before Maria handed it over to Anna, starting to tell the ER nurse more details.

xxxxxx

"It is a good thing you got him here when you did." The nurse said, using liquid stitches on Bryan's wound, she was referring to the man that they had brought in on Ratchet. "Nice work you guys did when he started to flat line as well. I'm quite impressed."

Maria nodded, eyeing the work the nurse was doing. "We're all military trained, so we've had to patch up wounds in the field before. Can't remember the last time I had to do work on a car bomb patient."

Anna nodded from her spot sitting next to Bryan on the gurney. "So he's going to make it?"

"Well, I can't tell you the specifics, but," She started. "I can tell you that you all did a great job on him. He's in the ICU and we contacted the family. He's not out of the woods yet, but he should live."

Bryan grinned as more gauze was applied to his head. "Good."

xxxxxx

"So what do you think?" Tyler asked, looking up at Jazz expectantly.

"It's..." Jazz paused, thinking. "It's quite the theory you've got going there. But I never really paid too much attention to how Starscream moved to be able to help you with that." He turned away from the screen to tap a few keys on his datapad. "But I can forward this to Ratchet and Prowl, if anyone would know, it would be them.

Tyler nodded, looking over at Mei.

The girl sighed, resting her head against the arm of the couch, rubbing her temples. "I hope you're wrong Tyler. We're in a big pool of shit as it is, we don't need a Decepticon Air Commander in the mix as well."

"Could be worse," Jazz quipped, looking over his shoulder at her. "We could be dealing with Megatron."


	28. Alive and Awake

"Got yourself fragged up real nice, Doc." Wheeljack grumbled, pulling away one more piece of damaged armor. "Hmm, seems like I'll need to replace a few things." He pushed away from the table, ignoring the medic's glare as he started looking through Ratchet's things.

Outside the makeshift medbay, Bryan was sitting on the table top, looking over at Kasey. "I think the first bomb was meant to do some damage to us, the second was meant for any emergency responders."

Kasey shook her head. "No way, not just any emergency responders. That bomb was _made_ for Ratchet. They knew he would be the first one there."

"They fucked up though," Anna growled, looking up from her report. "Didn't wire the thing properly. Only half the blast went off."

Maria nodded, tossing her own report on the table. "If that entire thing had gone off? Me and Ironhide figure it would have leveled the city block, never mind our resident medic."

Bryan jumped off the table, heading for his jacket. "That settles it, we can't wait around any more, we need to-"

"_We_," Kasey corrected him, spinning him by the shoulders so that he was facing the couch. "Need to hold off on anything until Chromia is better. Four trigger-happy mechs are a lot better than three. Besides, we still have a prisoner to interrogate."

Bryan rolled his eyes, plopping down on the couch.

"I agree with him." Sunstreaker stated, pointing at Bryan. "It's bad enough they messed with my paint job, but now they're messing with _our_ Ratchet. No one messes with Ratchet, except for us!" He said, pointing at his brother who nodded.

Anna rolled her eyes now. "Cool your jets guys. You'll get your turn."

xxxxxx

"It's good to hear your voice again."

Prowl allowed himself a smile as he settled down in front of the consol. He studied the video screen in front of him. "It has been too long, Jazz. I hope you are well."

Jazz snorted, rolling his shoulders. "As good as I can get with this current situation. I'll feel a lot better when this thing is over and you're back here with me."

"Soon, Jazz. Soon." Prowl assured him. He hadn't noticed Anna enter the room behind him, looking through her gear for something.

Jazz held up the datapad for the camera to see. "Thanks for your report, Prowl. I'll be sure to pass it on to Optimus when he gets back." There was a pause. "And, Prowl? Try not to get yourself too fragged up, okay?"

Prowl nodded, cutting the connection. When he turned around he noticed the grin on Anna's face. He tilted his head to the side. "What?"

xxxxxx

"Hey, so how's that weapon coming along, Maria?" Kasey asked, looking over Maria's shoulder at the blue prints.

"It's coming. Ironhide is helping me figure out how to make it fire energy rounds without it getting too big or heavy for us to carry. We've already figured out how to make the scope digital without it getting pixilated. I've made it fit a regular fifty caliber round as well. I'm hoping to make it adaptable to sidearm rounds too, but one step at a time."

"Bad ass." Kasey said, eyeing the specs. She looked over her shoulder when she heard Anna come back in.

"Hey, what do you guys know about Jazz and Prowl?"

Ironhide looked up from his own set of blueprints, glancing at Sideswipe and Sunstreaker before just grinning to himself and going back to work.

"What do you mean?" Bryan asked. He was laying on the couch, icepack on his head.

"Well I just overhead him talking to Jazz on the comm. links and it sounded... _affectionate_."

Kasey rolled her eyes. "Anna, not this again."

"What?" The girl asked, putting on an innocent act. She looked up at Sideswipe.

"So, do you know anything about Jazz and Prowl?" She asked, trying hard to hide her grin.

"Don't answer that Siders. It's a trap." Sunstreaker said, pulling a can of his wax from one of Ratchet's lockers.

Sideswipe just looked down at Anna and shrugged. "Just about as much as Barricade or _Ironhide_ knows." He said, stressing the weapons specialist's name. Anna just winked up at him.

"Oh, Ironhide!" She called the mech in a sing song voice, not phased by his quick response of "No!".

"Aww, come on Ironhide. You can tell me." She said, pouring on the innocent act.

Ironhide wasn't fooled. "No way, no how, not going to happen." He grumbled, not bothering to look up from his work. "Information is a dangerous thing with you."

Ironhide was relieved when the response from Anna was just silence. She walked away from him and sat up on the same table Bryan had a few moments ago. There was a few more seconds of silence before that evil grin reappeared on her face.

"Do think Prowl and Jazz 'bump bumpers'?"

"Anna!" Maria and Kasey both yelled at the same time.

Bryan laughed so hard he nearly fell off the couch.

xxxxxx

Jazzed breathed a sigh of relief, tapping his fingers on the datapad he had in his hand. He took the short walk down the hall, leaving the pad on Optimus' desk before heading outside of the hanger.

He allowed his mind to drift a little. Now that he knew Prowl was safe and with the others - more importantly, Ratchet - he could actually relax slightly. He turned his gaze up towards the sky, wishing the war was just over and done with.

No more fighting. No more fear.

xxxxxx

Bryan opened one eye when he heard the whistle. He had heard it quite a few times before and already knew where it was coming from. He groaned and rolled to put his feet on the ground, sighing as he tossed the ice pack aside.

"Alright, who let Ratchet into the Scrubs DVD set again?"

Kasey shrugged her shoulders. "Not my fault he likes Dr. Cox so much."

Bryan shook his head and chuckled to himself, somehow, just about nothing the Autobots did seemed to surprise him anymore.

He walked into the med bay, looking up at the medic. "You called?"

"Yes, I am about to take Chromia out of stasis, you should all be here for it." He stated, tapping a few keys on the consol near him.

They all heard the whirling of gears moving and systems powering on, and sure enough, the femme sat up, 'blinking' her optics while she took note of the many humans surrounding her.

Most of all, the big black mech next to her. There was a few moments of quiet whispering between the two before Chromia turned to the humans, looking down at them.

"My name is Chromia, I am the second in command under the femme Autobot fraction. I'm also their weapons specialist." She stated, one large hand still clasped in Ironhide's.

Kasey was the first to step forward, glancing behind her before she started.

"My name is Kasey, I'm one of the Special Ops officers attached to the Autobots."

"I'm Anna," The girl stated, keeping her hands in her pockets. "Black Ops attached to the Autobots."

"My name is Maria Sanchez. I'm a Black Ops officer attached to the Autobots. I'm also a weapons specialist."

"I'm Mikeala Banes, I'm not an officer of any kind. I'm just Ratchet's trainee."

Bryan stretched his muscles out a little before folding his arms over his chest. "My name is Bryan Dark. Special Ops officer attached to the Autobots. I specialize in profiling."

"It is good to meet you all." Chromia said, nodding to emphasize her words. She then looked to Ironhide. "Where is Optimus?"

"Optimus," The black mech started. "Is across the country in Nevada. Bumblebee and Jazz are with him and-" He stopped talking when her optics shifted towards Barricade who had just walked in the room. Ironhide chuckled to himself when he felt her arm try and pull itself away from his so that it could form into her cannon. He kept his grip gentle, but firm. "Easy, Chromia. He's not going to hurt you. He's one of us now."

Chromia didn't struggle against Ironhide's grip, but still glared daggers at the cop car. "Not likely."

Maria cringed at the poison on Chromia's voice. But who could blame her? She was going with what she knew.

To his credit, Barricade didn't get upset with her. He shrugged his shoulders at simply replied. "I deserve that. Though I assure you _femme_, that I am not here to cause harm."

"This is going to get interesting." Kasey whispered to Maria.

"Right, just like all those years ago. When we actually trusted you?" Chromia spat, pulling her arm from Ironhide. "Like I have any reason to believe you now."

"Chromia," Ratchet started. "He's been working with us for months now. He isn't here to hurt anyone, he's been helping us."

Chromia considered these words for a moment. She knew that if anyone could tell Decepticon intentions, it was Ratchet. She looked down at Mikeala. The girl nodded, glancing at Barricade before looking back at Chromia. "He's actually calling us by our names. Trust me, he's made big improments."

Chromia was about to reply when Sideswipe poked his head in the doorway. "Hate to interrupt your little reunion here, but we've got a vehicle approaching. Looks military."

"That has to be our advisor." Kasey said, looking at Bryan.

Bryan just grinned, pushing his hands into his pockets. "Show time."

xxxxxx

A/N: I know it's short. It's a set-up chapter.

Oh! And I updated the soundtrack for Pursuit in my profile so that it's MUCH better than it was before. I've got a few more clips up and even a few theme songs for my OCs as well as a new Twins Intro song and even a song for when they got chased by Prowl. Take a look and tell me what you think.


	29. The Chase

A few introductions later, they found themselves sitting in a circle around a table, each eyeing their military advisor with uneasy glares.

"My name," She started, "is Taylor Kingston." She seemed to look past her human counterparts and up at the Autobots, allowing herself to focus for a moment before looking back down at the humans. "My official, according to a few of my local superiors, reason for being here is to tell you all that any investigation into the NCA is unsanctioned by the local forces. I'm also supposed to tell you that any investigation or action against the NCA will land each of you in jail." She said, looking up at the Autobots. "Really big jails..."

She shook her head, ignoring the yells and curses thrown in her direction, she had expected it, to say the least. She sat their patiently, waiting for the teams to calm themselves.

"However, I know a cover up when I see one. And I for one, did not join the military to serve under a corrupt set of standards, officers, and policies. So, I have contacted Defense Secretary Keller on my own, and have been given permission to allow you to stay here." She paused, pulling a folder from her pack. "You will, of course, have to avoid detection by any of our local police forces and military personnel, but I doubt you'll have any problems with that."

She could see the relief wash over everyone in the room. She opened her folder, pulling a few more papers from it. "I've taken the liberty of logging in your Autobot friends as part of a rental car agency, with the exception of," She looked down at her papers. "Ratchet, Prowl, Barricade, and," another pause "Red Alert. Ratchet, you're logged in as part of the Hartford Fire Department, Prowl and Barricade have been added to the State Police database as freelance officers, and Red Alert has been tagged as a vehicle owned by one of the local outsource security companies." She checked over her papers again. "Did I miss anyone?"

Kasey shook her head 'no'. "I know this sounds like a stupid question, but why have they been added to a rental car company?"

Bryan chuckled and shook his head. "So that if the police run the plates, it looks like we rented them from the company. We're supposed to appear as tourists while conduction our investigation."

"Oh, a smart one." Taylor chuckled to herself, passing Bryan all the papers she had laid out. "I'd give these to each of the Autobots so that in the event you're pulled over, you'll have documentation to back up your stories."

Bryan accepted the papers, looking them over before passing them to Kasey. "So where do we stand?"

"Well," Taylor pulled more papers from her pack. "Your target is the NCA. That stands for 'Neutral Contract Agency'. Officially, according to the press and my superiors, they are a security contractor. Unofficially, according to my own investigation, they are a 'hitman for hire' contract agency. I've been able to tie them to ten thousand hits world wide over the past five years."

Kasey let out her breath. "So we're not talking about small time guys. Ten thousand hits in five years? That's just over two thousand hits a year."

Taylor nodded. "And that's just the ones I've been able to tie them too. I sure that if I looked further back, I could probably tie them to another thirty thousand more. The problem is, just over half of those hits, were contracted by military officials looking to make easy work of Homeland Security targets." She laughed to herself. "Their version of cutting through the red tape."

"Corruption at it's finest." Maria sighed, rolling her eyes as she took a look at the paperwork.

"Right," Taylor agreed, looking over more paperwork. "so, that is why you're facing down the roadblocks you are. The people that you are supposed to be getting an approval from are either using NCA or is backing Agent Simmons in his research."

"That would explain it." Anna stated, folding her arms over her chest and sitting back in the chair. "So, do you have anything for us to get started with, or are we just shooting off blanks in the dark?"

"Well, I'm going to give you all the information I was able to dig up on these guys. It isn't much to go on, but maybe with fresh eyes and," She looked up at the Autobots again. "Er... yah; maybe you'll be able to find something I didn't."

xxxxxx

Kasey sighed as she looked over the paperwork she had been given, separating it by which papers would need to be given to which Autobot. She counted the documents before looking over at Bryan who simply said 'What?'.

"I'm missing paperwork for Chromia. I don't think Taylor knows about her." Kasey said, looking over her papers again.

"Think we should call her and get some?" Anna asked from her position on the couch.

Bryan shook his head. "No. Lets leave it as it is. Just in case everything isn't as it appears with Ms. Kingston, Chromia would be our trump card."

Maria chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Ironhide's not gonna like that at all."

Bryan mimicked her actions, looking for his cell phone. "Yah, yah."

xxxxxx

Ratchet sighed as he finished running the last of his scans on Chromia. "Well, the damage has been repaired. Looks like your self repair systems are finishing up what's left. Very good." He said, nodding a little before looking down at his datapad. "I'll have Wheeljack come in to touch up your paint."

"Actually, think I could do it, Ratchet?"

Ratchet looked over to see Sunstreaker standing in the 'doorway'. The yellow mech seemed to shrug his shoulders. "It's been a while since I've been able to draw anything. I could use the practice."

"And you want to practice on me?" Chromia asked, sitting up on the repair table to throw a glare at Sunstreaker. The mech just put on one of his trademark grins, shrugging his shoulders at her.

"Worse things have happened." Chromia admitted in defeat, looking to Ratchet. The yellow mech shook his head. "It's your paint job."

Chromia looked back to Sunstreaker. "Fine, but if I come out looking like a glitch you'll have to deal with me _and_ Ironhide. Clear?"

"Transparent." Sunstreaker said with a grin.

xxxxxx

"Hey Sides, I need a favor."

Sideswipe looked up from his card game with Anna. "Last time I heard those words from you Sunny, Prowl gave us record time in the brig."

Sunstreaker rolled his optics, pulling a datapad from his subspace and jotting a few things down. "I need to get some paint for Chromia. But while I'm gone I need you to set a few things up for me." He said, handing Sideswipe the datapad. "I'll be back in two hours."

"Wait up!" Mikeala called when Sunstreaker transformed. "I'm coming with you."

xxxxxx

"So, what are you planning?"

Sunstreaker's hologram had his arms folded over his chest as he looked over the large selection of paint. "Little known fact." He started, not taking his eyes off the colors before him. "Back before I was pulled into the war, I was a pretty well known Artist on Cybertron. At one time, before I became known as the unofficial Autobot prankster, second only to Jazz, I would help Doc Hatchet patch up paint jobs after he worked his medic magic."

Mikeala looked him over briefly before allowing her hands to slide into her coat pockets. "Never pictured you for a painter."

Sunstreaker chuckled, giving her a sideways glance before pulling a can of paint down off the shelf, moving further down the line to find another. "Not many do. It has had to have been... at least three hundred years since my last official signed piece. Now most of my work is sported by the Autobot bots. If you ever see some old images of Wheeljack, you'll see some of my finer paintjobs."

Mikeala looked over his first choice of paint before looking to the shelf. "Now would be the time to announce your comeback." She said, pulling down another can of paint. "How's this one?"

Sunny went over the image he had created in his CPU, nodding as he took hold of the paint. "I need a good shade of either green or blue to go with these." He said, looking a little further down the shelves. He stopped a little ways down. "Hmm, florescent paint..."

xxxxxx

Sunstreaker waiting for Mikeala to unload all the stuff they had purchased from his trunk before transforming to his full height. He looked over and saw that Sideswipe had created when he had been asked too. The large white tent covered a decent amount of floor space, but it was necessary. Looking in, he saw the card table with various painter's tapes stacked and ready for his use.

He chuckled when he saw the two plastic windows at the entrance of the tent. Those would have to be covered to keep Ironhide out. Sunstreaker moved to sit beside the tent, activating his hologram.

He peeled back the tent doors, allowing Chromia to drive herself in and park. Sunstreaker covered the windows of the tent before turning on the ventilation, he picked up the first roll of tape, giving Chromia and evil look over his shoulder.

xxxxxx

"He's be in there for five slaggin hours!" Ironhide grumbled, dodging another thrown wrench by Ratchet when he had caught the black mech trying to scan the tent to see what Sunstreaker was doing.

"Leave them alone Ironhide." He warned.

Mikeala just sat back with a giggle. The ride back from the auto shop had been filled with talk about the color scheme that he was going to paint Chromia. They had settled on one thing: She had to looked 'bad-ass'.

Hearing the zipper of the tent slide open, all eyes were on the set of brake lights appearing from the still disappearing mist of the painters tent.

Chromia backed slowly out of the tent, Sunstreaker's hologram following her as he finished balling up the last of the used painter's tape.

A collective silence fell over the room with the exception of Ironhide's whispered 'wow'.

Chromia didn't transform at first in order to give the others a chance to see her new paint job.

Sunstreaker had really outdone himself with this one. Everything from the door handles down had been painted a dark-ish shade of blue, everything above the door handles had been painted a similar dark-ish shade of blue/green. The colors had been blended to look what could be described beyond perfection and had been separated from each other by a strip of white, running from the headlight, across the door handles, and to the tail lights, meeting in the middle by the Autobot symbol. The final touches had been the words '_Armed Response'_ painstakingly etched along the bottom of the door panels in the white florescent paint, the kind that had been used to paint the word '_Police' _across Barricade's doors.

"That looks great, Sunny!" Sideswipe said before he could stop himself, the joke of Chromia being what the human's called an 'Armed Response Unit' not lost on him. But it appeared that neither Chromia nor Ironhide minded the added touch, if anything, they seemed to like it.

Chromia transformed and stood up, stretching a little to work out a kink in a few of her gears. "I really like it, Sunstreaker." She stated, looking herself over. Ironhide hadn't said much until then.

"Good." The yellow mech stated, back in his own body. He made sure to give Ironhide a pointed look. "No touching for at least an hour. The paint needs to dry."

Ironhide just grumbled in response, keeping his hands to himself. Bryan chuckled, tugging on his jacket as he looked up at the weapons specialist. "I've gotta run to the store and grab some things, think you can give me a ride?"

xxxxxx

"I've got to admit, Ironhide." Bryan sighed as they pulled into the supermarket parking lot. "I feel weird every time I ask one of you guys for a ride. Riding _inside_ of a living thing?" He chuckled to himself. "Wasn't in one of my over imaginative dreams as a kid."

Ironhide chuckled under his feet. "If it is any consolation, it doesn't bother us at all."

Bryan rolled his eyes, patting the truck hood after getting out and walking past. "I'm sure it doesn't. Hang out here, I'll be back in ten minutes."

xxxxxx

Inside, Bryan collected a few of the things the team would need for the next few days. Since they had been living off military rations for the past few days, he assumed it would be nice to have a real meal for once. He grabbed a few things that could be quickly made, and a few others that would require a little work.

Offering the cashier a polite smile, he reached into his back pocket to get his wallet, accidentally flashing his holster in the process. He didn't even realize it as he handed her his money and got his change.

He collected his bags and walked outside. He didn't even hear the woman telling the security guard about him.

xxxxxx

He took his time walking towards Ironhide, knowing that the Autobot was damn near jumping on his suspension as Bryan took his time getting there. He pulled down the tail gate and loaded up the bags, shutting it just as he heard the cop car pull up behind him and the all too familiar words of 'hands up'.

Bryan didn't move at first, he was weighting his options. He kept his hands placed on top of the tailgate, looking down for a moment. He was blocking Ironhide's license plate from the view of the cops. "Ironhide," He hissed. "Change your plates." He said, watching as they changed state and tag numbers. He thought for another moment before whispering. "I'm gonna make a move in a few seconds. When I do, you need to haul ass to the main street and keep track of my movements. Trace my cell frequency if you half to. See if you can't alert the others to run interference while you're at it. We'll look for our chance to recover and loose the cops. Got it?" He said quickly and quietly. Ironhide rocked on his suspension. "And remember 'Hide. The cops are collateral damage. I don't want _**any**_ collateral damage."

If it were up to Ironhide, he would have just simply crushed the police cruiser behind him and happily sped back to base.

But on the other hand, Ratchet, Prowl, and Red Alert would never let him hear the end of it. And he did value his audio receptors.

Bryan waited for them to tell him to put his hands up again before ducking and rolling to the left, making a break for the fence on the far side. Ironhide sped off and one of the cops chased him while the other took off after Bryan.

Bryan jumped the fence without quite looking at first. He clung to the other side when he realized that there was a slight fall to the streets below. He climbed as low as he could on the fence before swinging himself over just as a semi passed under him.

He landed on the trailer with a thud, ducking down as the truck cleared an underpass. When the truck cleared it, he rolled to the side, climbing down the access ladder and jumping to a passing pick up truck. He gripped the back of the tailgate, tucking his feet into the bumper as a cop car started to flag the truck down to pull over.

As soon as it slowed down enough, he leaped from the back of the truck, onto the hood of the cruiser, running over the top of it and down the back before running into a bank parking lot.

He hit the front entrance doors, running strait through the bank and out a fire exit, sprinting the parking lot and across the back alleyway ahead of him. He exited on a main street just as two more cop cars passed by.

They stopped and the cops got out and advanced on him, gun's drawn. Bryan waited for the first cop to get close enough before striking out, causing the gun to go flying and throwing the cop off balance. Before he had a chance to straiten up and attack Bryan, he flipped him by his arm, causing him to land on his back just as the next cop came into strike range.

Bryan lashed out with his left foot, sending the gun flying and the cop tumbling to the ground, using the momentum he had built up, he brought his foot down, hitting the next cop in the stomach and sending him to the ground. The fourth stayed back after watching his three team mates being taken out by hand to hand moves. He ordered Bryan to the ground.

With this cop out of his striking distance and intently trained on his head, Bryan didn't have much of a choice. Lucky for him, Ironhide had been quick in contacting the others as Prowl came rolling onto the scene and chirped his siren, distracting the cop long enough for Bryan to close the distance and knock him out too.

Saving the thanks for later, Bryan took off running towards a major intersection. Two cops were chasing behind him in cars as he cleared the intersection. He heard horns and sirens blaring behind him. He risked a glance over his shoulder and found that Sideswipe had pulled out in front of the cops while they were pursuing him, causing them to stop and scream at him to move.

Taking his time so that Bryan could make some decent ground, he pulled out of the way, his hologram getting out and yelling 'sorry' for effect.

Bryan ducked into another alleyway just as another cop car got on him. This cop didn't stop to get out of the car and chase him, this one chased him down the alleyway in the car.

Bryan forced himself into a sprint as the cop car was gaining ground on him. He made a quick glance over his shoulder and saw Ratchet following the cop car down the alleyway. He looked forward again, seeing a bar at just the right height for him to grab.

He pushed a little more speed out of his body, jumping and grabbing the bar just as the cop car was about to hit him. His momentum carried him over the top of the bar. He held on as he started to come down and let go just as Ratchet was under him. He landed on top of the rescue hummer with another thud. He was quickly back on his feet, jumping from the roof of the hummer with a whispered 'thank you' as he leaped onto the roof of the building next to him. He ran to the other side, and seeing that the cops hadn't gotten there yet he took a moment to look around.

Red Alert was driving down the street and caught sight of him on top of the building. The security truck pulled to the side, popping the cargo gate door on the back for Bryan to climb in. He swung himself down off the top of the building, gripping the edge as his body slammed against the glass window of the small café he had climbed on top of. He let himself drop and took another look around. The cops were coming, but while he could hear their sirens, he couldn't see any of them.

He quickly jumped into the back of the security truck, allowing Red Alert to close the door behind him. He was happy to see the blue tarp in the back of the truck and quickly crawled under it.

He let out a sigh, but quickly held his breath as he heard a set of tires squeal behind them and a resounding crash.

"Don't look up." Red Alert warned him as he felt the Autobot speed up to highway speeds. "You are uninjured?"

"Besides the bumps and bruises?" Bryan asked quietly. "I'm fine. Man, you guys saved my ass out there."

He hadn't noticed until then that Anna was riding with Red Alert. "Yah, well, you're the smartest one here, we couldn't just leave you there."

"Smart would be not getting chased by the police." Red Alert reminded her.

"Keeps us on our feet."

xxxxxx

Few Moments Before

xxxxxx

"_Local law enforcement is almost here."_ Wheeljack said over the comm. system. _"If Red Alert retrieves Bryan before they arrive, you two are to let him go past and then do that thing you guys are so good at."_

"_You mean frag ourselves up to the point where Ratchet wasn't to rebuild us as toasters?"_ Sideswipe said over the radio, ignoring his brother's headlight based glare.

"_That'd be right. Make it look good too, we have to block the roadway. Chromia, Barricade, Ratchet, are you in position?"_

There was collective affirmatives all around. _"My calculations suggest that we have enough time to get the twins into position and get everyone else to block off the road before the police arrive. But that's pushing it."_ Red Alert said over the comm..

"_We have to make it work."_ Chromia stated.

"_He's got him!"_ Sideswipe yelled over the comm. _"Now Sunny!"_ The red twin said, burning rubber as he sped into the intersection just as Red Alert passed him, bracing himself as Sunstreaker did the same. With a loud crash, he slammed into his twin's back quarter panel, causing the yellow car to spin around from the impact.

Over the comm. system, Sunstreaker groaned. _"The things we do for humans."_

"_Quite your whining." _Ratchet scolded. _"Be quiet and I promise to fix you up without too much pain. I'll even use pain killers this time."_

Getting no response from the yellow twin, Ratchet pulled up to the 'scene', turning on his emergency lights just as Wheeljack pulled up and activated his. To make the effect truly look like a 'police chase gone wrong' scene, Chromia pulled up to where she would have been had she been chasing Sideswipe, activating her alt form's emergency flashers as well.

When the cops arrived on the scene, they didn't see a staged accident scene meant for the road to be blocked from looking for a suspect on the run. What they saw, was a state police issue BMW SUV parked near a crashed Corvette with EMS and the Fire Department already on scene.

With much luck, that would be all they saw.

xxxxxx

Bryan took a deep breath when they pulled into the hanger and he was aloud out of the back, taking the blue tarp with him. He waited patiently for everyone to get back to the hanger before offering sheepish grins and apologies all around.

"I don't know why they showed up there and came out pointing guns at me!" He defended himself before growing quiet. "Shit... someone must have seen my holster in the Super Market..." He sighed. "I'm sorry guys."

"No harm, no foul." Sideswipe stated brightly, shouldering his twin.

Bryan looked up at Sunstreaker, realizing the mech was sporting a few more dents then he normally would allow himself to. "I'm guessing you got those protecting me? Sorry, Sunstreaker, I promise, I'll get you and Sideswipe two barrels each of Premium Gas." He heard Ratchet 'clear his throat'. "You too Ratchet, since I did land on you." He sighed when he looked around. "Ah, screw it. Premium Gas for everyone who wants it."


	30. Attacked

Kasey tried her hardest not to feel the least bit nervous when she realized that _all_ eyes were on her. The team had circled around her, and even those left behind on the west coast, were currently watching via video relay.

She took a breath and looked over at Maria who nodded slightly, before turning to look at the hanger doors.

"So, you all wanted to know about why Bryan has spent the past few hours sitting on top of the hanger in this cold weather, just looking at the sky right? Well... it's like this..."

xxxxxx Six Hours Earlier xxxxxx

"You know," Bryan started, shifting forward in Prowl's seat to get a better view at the street sign. "I could almost swear that I had some family out here. Haven't seen them in years, but I think this would be about where they live."

"What makes you say that?" Kasey asked, pulling her semi-bored gaze away from the passenger side window to give him a glance.

Bryan shrugged, still reading street signs. "I don't know. It was years ago though, right before I started the police academy I think... Hmm... why does all this look so familiar?"

"Because," Kasey was quick to respond, grinning out the window. "Prowl has been driving in circles for the past hour and a half. Who knew a sentient robot with GPS and Google built into him could get lost."

"I am not lost." Prowl stated.

"Here!" Bryan shouted, tapping Prowl's breaks to get him to stop. He was pointing at a red brick apartment building, starring up at it with wide eyes. "I remember now."

xxxxxx

"Lets see... Chase, Conte, Contessa, Darke! Here it is!" He said, pointing out the buzzer on the doorway panel. Kasey looked over his shoulder, allowing her jaw to drop slightly.

"Bryan, are you sure about this? I mean, the last time you two were together, it didn't end on good terms. In fact, didn't she try to stab you?"

Bryan rolled his eyes, already tugging the door open. "That was years ago, Kasey. Over fifteen if I remember right. I'm sure things have cooled down by now. Besides, I just want to say hello." He replied, having just stepped from the elevator onto the fifth floor. He walked slowly down the hall, reading each of the numbers, stopping at the one he was looking for.

He knocked on the door, taking a step back when he heard footsteps coming towards the door. The door swung open to reveal a nineteen year old girl. She wasn't wearing anything outrageous, just a simple blue t-shirt and sweatpants.

She eyed the two at the door for a moment, before catching sight of Kasey badge, still attached to her belt.

"The police, huh?" She asked, looking up to study the two faces. "Mom must have really outdone herself this time. What, did you arrest her drinking and driving _again_?"

Bryan had opened his mouth to answer, only to be cut off.

"No wait, don't tell me... She... stole another car and crashed it into the lake this time?"

Kasey snorted, glaring at Bryan before he had had a chance to block it.

"We must have the wrong apartment." Bryan said, looking to Kasey. "We're sorry to bother you, we're just looking for Holly Darke."

"You've got the right apartment." The girl stated, glancing over her shoulder. "Mom's sleeping off her latest drinking night. She won't be up for a few more hours. So, you can tell me, what did she do this time?"

"Are we talking about the same person?" Bryan asked, brow arched. "The Holly Darke I knew never did any of the things that you just mentioned."

"She got that way after she left my Dad. She never really talks about him, just says that he was a cop out in California. I never found out why they broke up, and I was way too young at the time to remember it."

Kasey took a step forward when Bryan failed to do so. "May we come in?"

xxxxxx

"Holly. Holly wake up." Bryan said, gently shaking the arm of the sleeping woman. She woke up slowly, stretching in her bed before giving off a startled yelp, seeing Bryan staring down at her with concerned eyes.

"Take it easy." He whispered, pulling the blinds down to help with any hang over effects she was having. "I was just in the area. I wanted to see you."

"Should have called first." Holly groaned, laying back in bed, covering herself with the blankets. "All this time, Bryan, and you finally decide to come back? Why? What for? Jasmine has a good enough life without you coming around to muck things up."

"_Me_?!" Bryan hissed, keeping his voice down. "Listen, Holly, _you_ left _me_. Not the other way around. I show up for work on day to find a guy in a suit serving me divorce papers! No phone calls, no letters, no e-mails, nothing! You just left me and too Jasmine with you! Do you know how devastated I was when I went home that night? Everything was just _gone_!"

"Oh sure, make this all about you, Bryan. Just like always."

"All about me?" He replied, blinking a few times. "Holly, I don't know what you think, but this is about _us_. What did I do that made you so unhappy that you just up and left me? Was it my job? The fact that I was joining the police academy?"

"I knew, the very second you got a job as a police officer our lives would change. I couldn't deal with not knowing if you would make it home at the end of your shift. And what about Jasmine, Bryan? What would she have done if she lost her father before of his job? I just couldn't allow that to happen."

Bryan opened his mouth to say something harsh, but thinking better of it, quickly closed it again. Taking a moment to settle down his thoughts, he sighed, shaking his head. "I just wanted to see how you were doing, Holly. I didn't say anything to Jasmine about me, she doesn't know."

"Keep it that way." Holly quickly replied.

Bryan sighed, standing up to leave the room. Holly sighed, rubbing her eyes before following him down the hallway. She stopped him before they had made it back to the kitchen.

He turned around, looking down at her with pity in his eyes.

"Look," Holly sighed, rubbing her hands in a nervous motion. "It's not that you wouldn't have made a great father, Bryan. I don't doubt that for a moment. But you have to understand, we needed a father and husband that we knew would be home each night. We didn't want a husband that, when he didn't come home, someone called in his place."

"I understand." Bryan sighed, sticking his hands on his pockets. He was about to leave when she stopped him a second time.

The kiss had been short, sweet almost, loving, but lacking in the spark is used to have. Bryan gave her a short hug before nodding his head to Kasey.

He pulled open the door while still looking at her. When he turned around to exit the doorway, he stopped dead in his tracks.

He had expected to see an empty hallway.

Instead, he was looking down the barrel of a gun.

xxxxxx Ten Minutes Later xxxxxx

Ratchet wasn't sure of just what was going on. The information he had was simple, short, and self-explanatory: Get here, _now_.

Where "here" was had been an apartment building a few miles from the center of town. When he had arrived, he found Prowl's hologram standing outside the building, an MP5 strapped across his back as he eyed the damage done to his windows.

"Fraggers must have been following me. I was so distracted by them when they smashed in my windows, I lost track of the two that had entered the building." He stated when Ratchet started looking at the damage. "In all honesty, Ratchet? I didn't even notice them."

"What is the current situation?" Ratchet asked, following Prowl up the stairs.

"The two that snuck in went after Bryan and Kasey. They were inside one of the apartments. The two attackers cornered them in an apartment while I was dealing with my problems down stairs. It wasn't until I heard Kasey calling for assistance over the comm. that I even knew they were under fire!"

Ratchet rounded the corner, keeping the look of shock off his face. The hallway was a complete loss. Two bodies were still slumped against the walls they had been near when they had been shot. With the bodies covered by blankets. Ratchet gave a questioning glance to Prowl, the tactician shook his head. "They are in the apartment." He stated, pointing towards an open doorway.

Ratchet hefted his first aid bag on little higher on his hip, having to turn sideways in order to enter the small doorway.

He found Bryan and Kasey kneeling by a prone form in the middle of the room. A younger female was currently huddled in the corner, arms over her head, obviously crying.

"What happened?" Ratchet asked, kneeing next to the victim.

"Two GSWs to the abdomen, another to the neck. I've got massive arterial bleeding." Kasey reported, already pulling more gauze from Ratchet's bag. Prowl had taken up a position at the window, the MP5 that had been strapped to his back was now in his hands as he kept keen eyes and sensors on the street below.

He could already hear their backup approaching, easily distinguishing the different sirens bellowing to Barricade, Chromia, and Wheeljack. He was also sure that, given the nature of the situation, Ironhide wasn't too far behind.

"I have a feeling that we're still being watched." Prowl stated, closing the blinds on all the window except for the one he was watching. "They may want to ambush us as we leave the building."

"You think they'll leave when the other arrive? I mean, eight on whatever they have has to turn the numbers in our favors, right?" Kasey asked, moving out of Ratchet's way.

"That, I do not know." Prowl replied, scanning each of the windows of the buildings across from them. He just knew, somehow knew, that there was at least one other hostile in the area.

He kept scanning even as the sirens got closer. And then he saw it, the glint off the scope of a high powered rifle. He wasn't going to have enough time to take out the shooter, so he did the only other thing he could think off that still made sense.

"Sniper!" He shouted, lunging from his position at the window to pull Ratchet down to the ground, Bryan and Kasey ducking for cover out of instinct, the former of the two, pulling the girl to the ground with them.

That shot had been deafening in Bryan's ears.

Before Prowl had had a chance to pull himself off the floor, he already heard gunfire being directed in the direction of the shot. Their backup had arrived.

He looked out the window to see Chromia and Ironhide's holograms crouched behind the Topkick, aiming shots up at the window the sniper had been in, Barricade's hologram had already ran across the street, bolting into the same building.

Wheeljack had already started up the stairs of their building, coming to assist Ratchet with anything the medic would need help with.

When Ratchet had finally gotten back up from the floor, he was about to start treating the victim again. He had just picked up his supplies when he looked over the body in front of him.

He sighed as he lowered his hands down, letting his supplies fall to the floor. It didn't matter.

He wouldn't be needing them anymore.

xxxxxx

Across the street, Barricade pounded the stairs as he ran to reach the floor the shooter had been on. He walked slowly down the hall when he had arrived at the right floor. He listened as another rifle shot came from the room to his right.

He pulled his rifle up, raised his foot, and kicked in the door.

The wooden door came off it's hinges, flying across the room, almost hitting the sniper in the process. Before the attacker had a chance to coordinate himself, Barricade had already stormed the room, pressing the rifle to the chest of the sniper before he could react.

"Do. Not. Move." Barricade hissed through clenched teeth. The sniper looked up at him. He had been caught. Being caught meant he had failed his objective; which meant death.

Instead of waiting for his bosses to send a squad after him, he took the only other way out.

A six story drop to the street below.

xxxxxx

Prowl watched as the body hit the street below, Barricade looking down at it from his perch at the window frame. He looked up at Prowl, shrugging his shoulders before turning around and heading back down stairs.

Prowl looked back down at the street and shook his head.

xxxxxx Two Hours Later xxxxxx

Bryan sighed, watching as the sky slow turned from day to night, splashing colors across itself as it did so. He looked down at his watch before closing his eyes.

What had originally started as a case to solve who was hacking the Autobots, had turned into a lot more than they had bargained for. It had gone from just attacking the Autobots to, having families destroyed, the death of teammates, government corruption, and now, the death of his ex-wife as well as the attempt on his daughter.

He had drifted off after that, only waking back up when he felt someone shaking his shoulder. He looked up, seeing Ironhide's hologram's blue eyes looking back at him. He clicked the glow switch on his watch, seeing that a few more hours had passed since he had dozed off.

Ironhide took a seat next to him, keeping his knees bent on the cold metal, letting his arms rest on his knees. There was a few moments of silence before the weapons specialist spoke up.

"How you holdin' up?" He asked quietly.

Bryan didn't answer him, he just kept looking out at the sky.

Ironhide sighed, rubbing the left side of his face. "A few weeks before we left Cybertron to look for the Allspark, we had been engaged in a rather large battle with the Decepticons. We had won, and had spent a few days afterwards patching up wounds and trying to raise spirits." There was a pause. Bryan had looked over at Ironhide, listening to what the warrior had to say. Ironhide just kept looking out at the Airport, watching the people in the terminal who were watching the planes take off.

"I remember, I had a very important meeting with Prime and a few more of the higher ups in the Autobot Army to see what our next move would be for locating the Allspark. That morning, I had had a fight with Chromia. I realize now that it was just a stupid argument, just something to show that we still loved each other. But it had been heated, and I had left feeling angry with her."

Ironhide shifted his gaze, watching one of the planes arriving on the runway.

"Half we through the meeting, we were interrupted by a messenger. He told us that the nursery in the middle of Iacon had been attacked by Decepticons. They had bombed it, and then sent three of their warriors to go in and weed out the survivors for execution."

Bryan watched as Ironhide's features softened, though he still hadn't made eye contact.

"I think, for the first time ever in my existence, I felt actual fear. I knew that Chromia had been there... I knew that she was there taking care of our Sparkling... It was the worst day, I have ever experienced. All I can remember was Prowl and Jazz shouting at me as I ran from the meeting. Before I knew it, I was standing outside the wreckage. Medics were already there and treating those who had managed to survive their wounds. I remember finding Ratchet treating Chromia... but our Sparkling... Well, you can figure out the rest."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Bryan taking all the information in.

"I'm not saying that I know what you are going through." Ironhide picked up, looking over at him. "But I am saying that, instead of sitting up here and feeling sorry for yourself, get your aft down there and in that medbay before your little girl wakes up all by herself." And with a smirk he added. "Or alone with Doc Hatchet."

Bryan nodded, making his way towards the ladder.

"Oh, and Bryan?" Ironhide called after him, waiting for Bryan to turn to look at him before adding. "Tell anyone we had this talk, and I'll vaporize you."

Bryan just smirked, taking the first step on the ladder. "Thanks 'Hide."

Ironhide nodding, turning to look back up at the sky. He sighed, allowing his shoulders to slump a little. "Even after all these years, I'm still sorry I wasn't there."

xxxxxx

Bryan walked past Kasey just as a rather loud scream came from behind the dividing wall to Ratchet's medbay. He picked up the pace, rounding the corner just in time to see Jasmine throw her shoe at Ratchet's forehead.

"I must insist that you stop doing that!" Ratchet fumed, blocking the second shoe with his arm. The yellow mech sighed in frustration. "I am not here to harm you!" He shouted while the femme started looking for something else to throw at him.

Bryan smirked to himself, whistling loudly to get her attention.

"I wouldn't throw anything else at him. He's got killer aim too."

"You're that cop!" Jasmine shouted, dropping the brick she had managed to dig out from under the cot.

Bryan nodded, glancing at Ratchet before looking back at her. "Can I have a moment, Ratch?"

The medic nodded, glaring at the girl again before leaving the medbay. Bryan took a seat on the cot, looking over at his daughter.

"Jasmine... My name is Bryan, and we have _a lot_ to talk about."


	31. Mission Restart

Bryan kept a curious, but keen, eye on Jasmine

Bryan kept a curious, but keen, eye on Jasmine. The girl was slowly putting her shoes back on, but still had the far away look in her eyes.

"So... you're my father... those _robots_ are your friends... and, you're fighting a war against corruption in the government. Does that about sum it up?"

Bryan nodded dumbly. She was taking this... well.

"I would like to bring you out there to meet them if that's okay. I understand if you want to wait a little while... given the day's events..."

She shook her head. "Don't expect me to be all shaken up." She replied, pulling her jacket tight around her. "But don't get me wrong either. I'll miss Mom. But for the past three years, she hasn't been _my_ Mom. She's be the _come bail me out of jail_ Mom. The _I'm going to the bar. Don't wait up for me_, Mom. I'll miss her, sure, but I'm not going to cry over her." She paused there, looking up to meet her new found father's eyes. "You must think I'm heartless, to be able to say all that and not shed a tear."

Bryan shook his head. "Not at all." He offered his hand out. "Come on, I'll take you to meet the others."

xxxxxx

"Alright, first, the humans." Bryan started, pointing to each as he said their name. "That's Kasey, my partner. That over there is Maria, the weapons specialist. To her left, is Anna... we're not quite sure what Anna does around here." He said with a smirk. Ironhide chose this moment to walk into the hanger, causing Jasmine to get distracted long enough for Anna to flip Bryan the bird, unnoticed by his daughter. "Right, and laying on the couch over there is Mikeala, she's Ratchet's assistant and as you will learn, a 'Ratchet in training' herself."

Mikeala offered a tired wave from her position on the couch, she looked over at Ratchet and rolled her eyes at his scowl.

"And Ratchet is that yellow one?" Jasmine asked, looking over at the large mech.

"Right." Bryan answered. "Ratchet is the Autobot's medic. And while he's never had to do any work on me, I've heard he's the best medic on this, or any other planet."

"He is also foul tempered." Kasey added, not looking up from her magazine.

"Don't forget grumpy." Anna added quickly.

"And old." Sunstreaker added helpfully.

"Don't forget about that loose servo!" Sideswipe was quick to add to the growing list.

"And not to mention-" Ironhide didn't get to finish his remark as a wrench collided with the side of his head. He turned and glared at the medic, only to have Ratchet just simply grin back at him, pointing a single finger down at Mikeala who waved at him, holding up another wrench.

"And not to mention," Bryan picked up Ironhide's unfinished sentence. "he has great aim with a wrench. If you think Mikeala's throw was good, you should see Ratchet's." Bryan finished, his grin was smug as he turned to Ironhide.

"The big guy standing behind you is Ironhide," He started up. "He is the Autobot's weapons specialist. A word to the wise: don't ask Ironhide if you can see his cannons. He's always happy to show them off."

Kasey looked up from her reading. "Some of us think the cannons are compensating for something."

Ironhide sputtered, but it was drowned out by the laughter coming from the twins and even a snicker from Barricade. Chromia was trying to keep her smile hidden, but it wasn't working too well. "I assure you," She replied, still trying to hide her smile. "That Ironhide does _not_ need his cannons to compensate for anything."

Kasey just laughed harder.

Bryan rolled his eyes, pointing at Chromia. "That is Chromia. She is Ironhide's sparkmate. She's exactly like Ironhide, only female, and slightly more _perverted_."

Chromia rolled her optics at Bryan. Becoming slightly bored, she started looking for something to do. She settled for throwing a rock at Sunstreaker. It pounced off the yellow mech like a small rubber ball. But he was already checking himself for scratches.

"Do that again, Chromia, and I'll shove that rock up your aft!" Sunstreaker growled, glaring fake daggers at Chromia.

"Just be sure to _twist_." She growled back, not backing down from the glaring match.

Bryan sighed, nodding towards Sunstreaker. "That is Sunstreaker, you can call him Sunny if you want to, it annoys the hell out of him. He's an Autobot warrior. And the red one sitting next to him is his brother Sideswipe, also a warrior."

Jasmine nodded in understanding. If there were any names she was going to mess up, it wouldn't be those two.

"Sunstreaker is very... to pit with it, Sunny's just plain full of himself sometimes." Sideswipe laughed, ignoring his brother who was spouting curses at him. "He'd have his own name across his chest if it wasn't for the fact that he thinks it would screw up his paintjob."

Bryan just chuckled, placing a hand on Jasmine's shoulder, gently turning the girl to face Prowl who was sitting across the room, intently reading over some datapads. "That is Prowl. He's the tactician of the Autobots. Think of him as... an enforcer of Autobot policies." He said, waiting for Jasmine to nod before he continued.

"Sitting across from him is Barricade. Barricade is Prowl's brother, but he isn't exactly the nicest mech of the bunch. Just do me a favor, whatever Barricade says, just do it. I don't feel like having to yell at him for trying to step on you."

Next he pointed at two mechs near Prowl who were busy talking to each other over some energon. "That is Red Alert and Wheeljack. Red Alert is the security specialist of the group and Wheeljack is an engineer. I've been told that Red Alert goes nuts at the drop of a hat, and Wheeljack has been known to blow himself up... a lot."

Said mech looked over at Bryan, before turning his gaze to Ratchet. "Gee, Ratch, wonder who told him that."

Ratchet simply nodded. "Don't know, 'Jack. I wonder too."

xxxxxx

A few hours later he had finally convinced Jasmine to get some sleep. Now, he found himself sitting in the middle of the hanger, looking around him.

_I need someone I know is capable of being smart and keeping her safe._ He looked around the room.

_I seriously doubt that Barricade will even consider being her guardian. And Prowl has __way__ too much to do to be able to handle watching a teenager too. Red Alert will fritz and Wheeljack will probably just her blown up._

He turned around to look at the other half of the hanger.

_Ironhide... just... no. Chromia, while as nice as she is, is most likely a worse choice than Ironhide. Hmmm... Ratchet, maybe... What am I thinking? No teenage girl deserves that. Except for Mikeala, but... well that's Mikeala._

He turned to look over towards where Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were still playing games.

_As much as I trust Sunstreaker, he just doesn't seem like he would take being a guardian seriously. That leaves Sideswipe... actually, not a bad choice. He can be fun, but he also knows when to play it safe._

His mind made up, Bryan opened his mouth to speak. "Hey, Sides! Can you come over here for a minute?"

xxxxxx

"Now just remember, Sideswipe. That's _my_ daughter, god it? If anything happens to her, Doc Hatchet will be the least of any worries you're going to have. Understood?"

Sideswipe's hologram shook his head with a grin, sitting back in his chair, putting his feet up on the table like he'd seen Maria do many a time. "I understand, Bryan. Primus, you make it sound like you don't trust me at all."

Bryan rolled his eyes, looking at his watch. "I do trust you. I just... never had a chance to say that when she was younger. I'm kinda making up for lost time."

Sideswipe nodded in understanding. "Did you hear what Ironhide said to her before?"

Bryan shook his head. "No, what did he say?"

"He had accidentally walked in on her changing and when she yelled at him for it, he told her that if she wanted privacy, she should "close the damn curtain". Needless to say, she wasn't too happy about that."

Bryan shook his head with a small laugh. "It seems like anyone who tells her something to that effect gets the same treatment." Bryan stated, leaning back in his chair. "And Ironhide of all bots, too. I could only imagine what the look on her face was when he said it."

Sideswipe pointed over Bryan's left shoulder. "Yeah, well... I would stop imagining quickly because your sparkling is about to do something _extremely_ stupid, even for a human."

Bryan's head whipped around to see Jasmine, having just woken up from her sleep, taking aim at the back of Ironhide's head with one of her heavy work boots. Bryan was out of the chair just as she was about to let it fly, snatching the boot from her hands.

"Are you crazy?!" He said, tossing the boot aside and pulling her away from the black mech. "Even I'm not crazy enough to throw something at Ironhide!"

When Ironhide heard his name, he turned around. Jasmine stuck her tongue out at the bot before acknowledging her father. "He had it coming. Telling me to close the curtain. The curtain was closed, he's just too stupid to realize it!"

Bryan rolled his eyes at that, pulling her further away from Ironhide. "Be that as it may, don't throw _anything_ at Ironhide. Sam once made the mistake of throwing a pillow at Ironhide for waking him up at 3AM and Ironhide threw Sam into the neighbor's swimming pool." He looked around for effect. "And I don't see a swimming pool around, do you? Makes me wonder what he'll do to you."

Jasmine rolled her eyes at him. "Well the ocean is only one hundred miles that way." She said, pointing in a random direction. Sideswipe, overhearing the conversation, was tempted to correct her as she was currently pointing away from any body of water known as a "ocean". He opted not to for fear of having that boot aimed at him.

"You're missing the point. There are two mechs that you should _never_, _ever_ throw things at. And that's Ironhide and Sunstreaker. Doesn't matter what they did to deserve it, just don't do it."

"What about that medic?" Jasmine asked, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "Ratchet? Can I throw things at him?"

"I wouldn't recommend it." Wheeljack spoke up, looking down at the two. "I made the mistake of throwing a wrench at Ratchet as a joke once. He threw it back at me and we still can't figure out where it disappeared too."

"Maybe it bounced off you, the floor, and found it's way up Ratchet's aft." Chromia supplied, ignoring the medic's sputtering. "That would explain why he's always so testy and- Ow! Hey!" She growled, turning around when she felt a bolt connect with the back of her head. "Do that again and you're aft wrench will have company!"

xxxxxx

"I know we got off track with the recent set of events, but now is the time for us to regroup and get things right. Now, we still have tons of recon to do on the building itself, but since they know mine and Bryan's faces, we're going to utilize other ideas." Kasey said, pulling up a map of the city, zooming it in on the block she needed.

"Our trump card here is the fact that while we can't change our faces, we do have people that they shouldn't have on file working with us. The other side of that card if the fact that the Autobots can change vehicles and colors without much trouble." Kasey looked up at the group, shaking her head. "Security is tight there, but it's nothing we can't deal with. I figure if we play this whole thing right and get it done fast, with recon; this mission should only last another week before we can get to the part where we shoot up half of Las Vegas."

xxxxxx


	32. Lost Contact

xxxxxx 3 Days Later xxxxxx

xxxxxx 3 Days Later xxxxxx

"_Maria, you copy?"_

Maria looked down at Prowl's radio, picking it up to answer the call.

"I've got a cell phone you know."

"_This was quicker. I need you and Prowl back at base. There's been a development."_ Kasey responded, sounded stressed out.

"What kind?"

"_A bad kind. Is Prowl finished placing the charges yet?"_

Maria looked out the windshield to see Prowl's hologram starting back towards her, the book bag slung over his shoulder. "He's done. We're on our way back."

xxxxxx

"So what happened?" Maria asked, looking around the room when her and Prowl got back to the hanger.

Kasey looked from Ratchet to Maria. "We lost contact with Nevada. No one can reach them at all."

Bryan was sitting at the table across from her, looking through folders. "I called Teresa and asked her if she knew anything. She faxed these over. They're convoy plans that were submitted by Mei. She was going to convoy our prisoner to a CHP barracks just outside of Nevada. Teresa is driving the route now to see if she finds anything." He tossed the folder back onto the table, standing up. "But I think we all know what happened."

Ratchet shook his had, allowing his shoulders to slump. "I looked over a copy of the report. Optimus, Jazz, and Bumblebee were part of the convoy. If we have lost all contact with the others, then it is likely that they have either gone into stasis lock or..." He trailed off, unable to say that their leader and best friends had been offlined. "What it amounts to is protocol, we automatically assume that they are lost until they are found. And since you're the third in command, Prowl, you currently lead the Autobots."

Prowl didn't answer at first, he was busy studying the plans that had been spilled onto the table when Bryan threw the folder.

"It's up to you Prowl, we can continue the surveillance here, or we can detonate the chargers you placed on the building and head for home. It's up to you." Anna said, her voice filled with sadness.

"We do not know the fate of the others." Prowl started, still looking down at the plans. "And even though according to protocol, we must assume them all lost, I will only go that far. Until we can receive some kind of confirmation as to their status, we will continue as planned here."

"But, Prowl! Prime and the others do not have a medic with them! If they are injured, they will need help!" Ratchet was quick to argue, even if Prowl was currently the big boss bot, Ratchet wasn't about to just sit around and let the others offline.

Prowl ignored the outburst while he considered the information. "You are correct, Ratchet..." He paused, thinking of the best way to handle the situation. "Take Ironhide and Mikeala, you three will head to Nevada and help the others as necessary." He turned to Ironhide, giving the mech a knowing look. "I hate to split you two up so soon, but it needs to be done."

xxxxxx

A few hours later found Chromia and Anna sitting just a few streets away from the Agency HQ building, watching the patrolling guards with keen eyes.

Inside, Maria was currently standing in the visitor's lobby, wearing a blue tooth ear piece connected directly to Prowl, Chromia, and Anna. Prowl was outside, tapped into the building's trunk phone line, waiting for a phone call to go out.

"_I've got it. The guy's name is Damien Bell. According to the building map, his office sits on the fifteenth floor, left hand corner. I'm listening in to everything that goes on, so when you are ready, talk to the receptionist."_ Prowl's voice came over the ear piece. Maria didn't wait for him to finish, she was already walking that way.

"Hi." Maria started, putting on a completely fake smile. "My name is Michelle Carlton, I'm here to see Mr. Damien Bell." She spoke with confidence.

"And the reason for your visit?" The lady at the desk replied, already having the phone in her hand to call upstairs.

"Tell him that it is _official business_."

The receptionist nodded, calling Bell's extension. Instead of talking directly to him, instead, the call was rerouted to Prowl who mimicked Bell's voice. After a few seconds the receptionist hung up, looking up at Maria. "He'll be waiting for you on floor fifteen's lobby. Elevators are down the hall and to the right."

xxxxxx One Hour Later xxxxxx

Maria jumped into Prowl's passenger seat, already typing keys on the attached laptop before the door had even closed. Prowl didn't have to ask her to tell that she had seen something she _seriously_ didn't like.

"Oh man," She groaned. "We are so fucked."

xxxxxx

"We are so fucked." Maria stated, pulling up diagrams that were projected onto a screen.

"Yeah, we get that part." Anna said, rolling her eyes. "But, _why_?"

"Just about every single security guard I ran into is ex-military of some kind. They were all extremely well trained, and _armed_. And that's not even the shit part." She said, fast forwarding the video that had been taken by a hidden camera in her jacket, she froze the image on one of the hand held radios a security guard was carrying.

"Every single guard is issued these radios. I've seen them before, they're nasty stuff. Check this out." She said, pulling up another image. "The radio's themselves are complex. Let me explain to you how they work. Every guard is issued a wrist watch, but the watch doubles for a monitor that monitors the guard's status. Say the guard just ran up the stairs and is feeling winded. Nothing will happen, but say the guard encounters an intruder - like all humans - you body secrets a small amount of sweat, adrenalin is released into the system in measured amounts, and your heart rate spikes. The watch can pick up all that, including body heat."

Maria paused to take a drink from the water bottle in her hands. She pulled herself to sit on the table to finish her explanation. "Now, the watch uses a wifi connection to send this information to the Security Control Center. If something happens that causes the guard to become alert, like say - he sees one of us walking around in tac gear - the watch senses the changes and automatically sends an alarm to the SCC, which then puts the building into lockdown and sends more guards."

She held her finger up when she saw Anna open her mouth to say something.

"Oh, but wait - there's more. The watch is hooked to the radio too, so we can't jam it all up. What's better is, say we manage to knock a guard out, they fall down, right? Well if the radio is on it's side for more than four seconds, it sends an alarm. If the radio goes out without the off switch being set, it goes into alarm. If we zap it with an EM-fuckin-P. That little fucker goes into alarm. Long story short, we can't touch and we can't be seen by ANY security guard or else our mission goes to shit."

Bryan thought for a moment. "Well... in order for the SCC to go into alarm, it needs power right? What if we managed to short out their systems?"

Maria shook her head. "The building has eight redundant back up generators, and each is inaccessible until it's on. By the time we managed to take down all eight, they'd be on us."

Kasey looked to Prowl and Wheeljack. "You guys seem to know a lot about radio communications. Would we be able to block both the wifi and radio waves?"

Prowl looked to Wheeljack for an answer. "It is possible. But I would need time."

Maria shook her head. "Blocking the radio wave effects their system the same way it would if we crushed the radio while it was on. It still reads the defaulted system and goes into alarm. Like I said, we can't touch nor be seen by any security guards."

"Fuck." Kasey hissed, looking down at the radio specs. "There has to be a way to get in there."

"I don't understand while you are all so intent on getting in there." Wheeljack said. "If Prowl already placed explosive charges to level the building, why would it matter if you got in there or not."

"Records." Anna said, not bothering to look up at the engineer. "We need their business records to hand over to the military. Otherwise the whole thing is technically a terrorist attack."

Bryan slammed his hand down on the table. "That's it! The WiFi!" He shouted, pulling up a image of the building.

"I thought of that." Maria said. "But the building has a data shield in place. It was interfering with our comms the entire time I was in there."

Bryan shook his head. "Doesn't matter!" He said, pointing at a guard gate house. "That gate house is our ticket. I remember our first drive by of the site, the guard in the gate house was on a laptop. That guard house has WiFi in it."

"Nice try, Bryan. But what do you want to bet that they shielded that too." Anna said, moving to stand next to him and study the image.

"Wouldn't matter. They can't shield the windows. If we do it right, Wheeljack could hack the system just by parking at the street across from the guard house."

"We would need to create a reason for him to be there. I mean, a Fire Department Hummer just sitting there would draw attention." Kasey said, giving Bryan a sideways look. But he wasn't having any of that, he was on a role.

"I know how to fix that too." He said, turning around. "Chromia! Sideswipe! Get over here!"


	33. Panic! at the Guard House

"For the last time, Jasmine

"For the last time, Jasmine. The answer is _no_." Bryan sighed, rubbing his temples. Upon hearing their plan, Jasmine had been more than pushy about being the person sitting in Sideswipe.

"Sideswipe's hologram is more than capable of faking a panic attack."

Jasmine rolled her eyes, looking over her shoulder at Sideswipe's hologram, currently acting out his 'panic attack' in a dramatic fashion, completely with clutching Sunstreaker's foot. Even the yellow twin was rolling his eyes at his brother.

"Dad, not for nothing, but Sideswipe can't act his way out of... the giant robot equivalent of a wet paper bag."

"She's got a point, Bryan." Kasey said, standing next to her partner, wincing at Sideswipe's horrible acting. The red twin transformed, giving a bow.

"Thank you all!" He started. "For my next act, I'll be playing the banjo with my teeth!"

Sunstreaker flicked his twin's forehead. "You don't have teeth aft-head."

Bryan rolled his eyes, looking back to Kasey. "Don't you start too. I don't want her there."

Kasey shook her head. "She'll be in Sideswipe, Bryan. We both know he won't let anything happen to her."

"I still don't like it."

"No one said you had to." Kasey replied. "You got the job, kid." She said, winking at Jasmine, ignoring the sputtering Sideswipe.

xxxxxx

Sideswipe was doing his best to make his controlled swerving look out of control as he drove past a parked Chromia. Seeing him drive past, she took her cue and hit her lights, chirping her siren to pull him over when the guard house of the complex came into view.

The next set of events was all planned out.

Chromia would knock on the window, Sideswipe would roll it down, and Jasmine would pretend to have the 'worst day of her entire life', ending in a panic attack.

They talked for a few moments in order to put on a show for the guards that, they had no doubts of, were watching them intently through the glass and CCTV system. Chromia's hands went to her radio, pretending to call in a medic for a woman having a panic attack.

The reply was only in case they were monitoring police frequencies.

"_This is dispatch, our nearest unit is an EMT two blocks east. We're dispatching him now."_ Which was followed by. _"This is First Response eighteen to Police Unit twenty seven. I'm in route now."_

Chromia called in an affirmative and continued to pretend to try and calm Jasmine down. To her credit, she was acting it all out pretty convincingly, almost to the point where Chromia had to whisper if she was okay.

Wheeljack pulled up to the scene, allowing his emergency lights to flash when he came to a stop. He stepped out, walked around the back to get an oxygen tank for Jasmine. While he was doing that, he was also concentrating on isolating the WiFi signal from the guard house. Chromia had ducked out of sight by going and sitting on the tailgate of her vehicle form.

Wheeljack handed the mask to Jasmine who put it on, watching as he electric blue eyes seemed to become distant as he started to work on hacking the guard house. Jasmine had to kick him slightly when she noticed a guard coming her way.

He looked at Wheeljack's vehicle form and then to the hologram. "You can't park that truck here."

"I'm treating a woman who's having a panic attack." Wheeljack replied, not bothering to look at the guard.

The guard's hand moved towards his holster, resting his hand on his weapon. "All the same, you cannot park that truck here."

Wheeljack's gaze shifted from Jasmine to the guard. "And why the hell not?"

"This property is owned by the people who own that building behind me. They do not want anyone on their property besides employees. You're going to have to move the vehicle."

"It's not going anywhere until I am done." Wheeljack narrowed his gaze, but nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a shotgun being loaded and cocked. He turned around to see Chromia approaching the group, shotgun in hand.

"There a problem here?"

The guard tightened his grip on his weapon, snapping the button of the guard so he would be able to draw it out. Before he had a chance to do much else, Chromia had raised the rifle, bracing it on her shoulder as she took aim. "Drawing a weapon on an officer is a pretty stupid idea." She said, just as Prowl pulled up on the scene, his hologram stepping out, his pistol drawn, but held at his side.

"What's going on here?"

"Not much more than a girl with a panic attack." Chromia replied, lowering her weapon, but not breaking eye contact with the guard.

The guard didn't answer at first, he just slowly removed his hand from his weapon. Now that he had taken the chance to get a good look at the two cop cars, he realized that the one Chromia had stepped out of had the words _Armed Response Unit_ painted on the side.

And even he knew better than to mess with things marked as 'armed response'.

"It would be advisable for you to go back to where ever you came from, and let the EMT do his job." Prowl started, glaring at the guard who simply nodded and quickly walked away.

"How are things going?"

"I'm all done here." Wheeljack said, looking up with a grin. "I've got all the files they need."

xxxxxx

Prowl waited until they were a safe distance away before radioing in. "Bryan, we're clear of the area, make the call and blow the building."

"_No can do Prowl. We've got more intel. It's not good. You and Chromia should find a spot nearby and sit tight. Wheeljack and Sideswipe should return to base."_

This was... unexpected. "What did the intel say?"

"_We've got an encoded message coming through on one of the comm. lines. Sunstreaker picked it up while listening in to you guys. He says he tracked it to that building and he's positive it's of Autobot origin."_

"_Impossible!" _Chromia's voice came over the comm. line. _"The only groups to land over here were Prowl's Team and me. There are no other Autobot's in the area, it has to be a trap."_

"_It's a risk we'll have to take."_ Sideswipe added to the conversation. _"Worst case scenario, we leave ourselves open for an ambush. It wouldn't be the first time, and we all know it won't be the last time. I say we go for it, investigate the signal and then trash the building."_

"I agree with Sideswipe." Prowl stated. "But an all out attack on that building will not work with its defenses. We'll need to infiltrate it some how."

"_I've got an idea."_ Anna started. _"There is an atrium that runs down the entire center of the building, from the first floor, to the lowest basement level. If we hold out until night time when everyone but security goes home, I can free rope down the center. Sunstreaker pinned the signal coming from the lowest basement level, so it'll work out nice."_

"_There's more."_ Bryan added. _"He says he's picking up a second signal, but its so week he thinks it's just an echo. Still, we could be looking at two Autobots instead of one."_

"_Let's say that there are two Autobots down there. They had to have snatched them up as soon as they landed or else we would have known there were here. So it's safe to say that they most likely do not have a vehicle mode yet. And if they are injured, they won't be able to scan one. So how do we get them from point A to point B?"_

Wheeljack answered that question. _"Me and Prowl can both support a flat bed tow truck alt mode. We'll have to load them into the bed and get them back to base. It'll work, but we'll need Chromia and Barricade to run escort and also Sunstreaker and Sideswipe to run interference with anyone chasing us down."_

"That works." Prowl answered, pulling to a stop a few blocks away. "But what about the guards? There will be too many of them."

"_We can take care of that."_ Maria answered. _"They already set themselves up for it. While Anna is fast roping her way down to the basement level, me and Kasey can stay on the top level. We'll set off an alarm to get a guard in our direction, tazer him to that the alarm goes off at SCC, and just use non-lethal rounds on the responding guards. They'll be so caught up in us two upstairs, they'll never know Anna was there."_

"_Sounds good."_ Bryan said. _"Think it'll work, Prowl?"_

"Put it into motion."

xxxxxx 7 Hours Later xxxxxx

"Is everyone in position?" Maria whispered into her comm., checking and rechecking Anna's fast rope gear. She gave the girl a thumbs up.

Anna readied herself for the decent, all she needed was Maria's signal.

"_Everyone is in position."_ Prowl confirmed.

"Good, now remember, Anna's got a camera attached to her helmet. Since we don't know any other Autobots but you guys, you're going to have to direct her if she can't find them."

"_Understood."_

Maria gave Anna the signal, and the plan was off.

xxxxxx

As soon as she hit the ground she was quick to find cover and wait. She wouldn't dare make a move until the alarms were triggered and the guards were heading up.

Anna did, however, peak up over her cover when she heard _his_ voice.

"Simmons." She whispered to herself before ducking back below cover.

"It would appear that the Autobots do possess some kind of auto regeneration systems for any wounds they take on in battle." A scientist was telling him. "Since they've arrived here, this one has been slowly healing up it's right leg." He said, pointing at something. Anna couldn't tell what it was because she was behind cover, but with those words, she knew she was in the right place.

Just then, the alarms were triggered and guard came down to report to Simmons. "Sir! We have an exterior door breach on the roof level! Post Eight reports a plane had flew overhead just a few seconds before!"

"They are here." Simmons replied, turning to look at the guard. "They are trying to gain access through the rooftop. Send teams up there, but be _extremely_ careful, they are very deadly. Also, alert your guards in the gate houses, they may be trying to distract us so that they can sneak in through the ground level."

The guard saluted Simmons before running back to the elevator. The scientist from before had retreated as well. Anna silently crept from her cover, sneaking right up behind Simmons, leveling her sidearm with the back of his head and clicking back the hammer.

"You should know better than to underestimate us." She started, keeping her eyes on his hands as he slowly raised them. "You should know better, than to think we would trigger the alarm before we were in position."

She watched as he didn't smirk, didn't come back with a catty remark, didn't even attempt to go for his weapon.

They had him.

"So now what?" He asked, feeling his throat go dry. "You're going to kill me, right?"

"If it were my call, we wouldn't of even had this conversation." Anna replied, keeping her stance. "Lucky for you, it's not my call. It is for Optimus to decide wither or not you should die for your crimes. I'm sure that Bryan and Mei will want a few words with you as well."

He chuckled at that. "Optimus. Ah, yes, the faithful Autobot leader. There is something you should know about him."

"I suggest you shut your mouth while you still can."

"But you need to know this." Simmons said, turning around to face her. "The Autobot leader, your good friend, Mr. Optimus Prime, is dead. I sent a team to Nevada three days ago. All that's left of him now is a still smoldering truck frame. That's it."

He said, glancing to his left. Anna forcefully turned him back around, kicking his legs out from under him so that he landed on his face. She planted her knee firmly into the small of his back before she looked where he had.

There was a large LCD TV, complete with the pictures of a burnt out truck frame, everything up to the semi-melt Autobot symbol. She growled low under her breath, the others wouldn't take the news well at all.

She was tempted to kill Simmons herself, but instead, she left the hammer fall back into place gently before raising his pistol up, striking him at the base of the neck.

Standing up, she pulled a USB flash drive from her gear, sticking it in the computer's USB port.

xxxxxx

Bryan sat outside with Wheeljack, the tactical shotgun sitting across his lap as he waited for the signal.

"_Anna here! I've got the basement secure! There's a loading dock in the same room that they are in, so you guys can get them out that way, also, be advised, I've got one in custody."_

"_Christ, Anna, you're not supposed to take the security guards prisoner!"_ Maria scolded over the radio, the sounds of the gunfire she was trading with the guards on the top floor coming in over the radio behind her voice.

"_Who said it was a guard? Just moves your afts and asses, I want to get out of here, this lab creeps me out."_

"Copy that." Bryan said into his radio. "Kasey, Maria, pullout now, we'll have enough time for us to get them out before the guards figure out what hit'em."

"_Copy that, we're parachuting out now. Ready to intercept?"_

"_Sideswipe here: I'll catch you."_

"_Sunstreaker here: If you land on me, I will never forgive you."_

Bryan rolled his eyes when Wheeljack started to pull forward onto the street, pulling down into the loading dock area where Anna was waiting with the door open for them.

He jumped down from Wheeljack's cab, nearly stumbling when he saw who was crumpled at Anna's feet.

"No fucking way."

Anna just grinned at him, holstering her weapon as she started to help load up the two new Autobots. "I know what you're thinking. And, yes, it was extremely hard for me not to shoot him."

Bryan just chuckled and rolls his eyes, signaling for Wheeljack to back into the loading dock. "We've gotta move," he started, already hooking up the towing chains and helping them load up the two offline bots. "the alarms triggered called the police on us, they're only two minutes out." He said, running back to get back into Wheeljack's cab, the Autobot waiting for Anna to climb in before pulling away from the loading dock, following Prowl back up the ramp and onto the street.

When they had the chance, they split into two separate groups, Barricade had followed Prowl and Sideswipe one way, the others had gone off the other way. They would take different routes in order to get back to base. They had decided they would tie up Simmons and stuff the knocked out man in Barricade's trunk.

Barricade wasn't happy about that, but after being told they would let him help in the interrogation, he was willing to live with it.

Bryan glanced up into Wheeljack's rear view mirror just in time to see Chromia swerve a little to the left before regaining her composure and getting back on track.

"So, who are we carting around here that has Chromia all distracted?" Bryan asked, using the mirror again to catch the small glimpse of the Autobot under the tarp.

"Prowl is currently carrying Arcee while we are carrying Elita-One. Both of them are Chromia's teammates." Wheeljack answered, slowing for a turn.

"That would explain it." Anna sighed, sitting back against the seat. "I pulled some files off one of the computers while I was in there. It's... information regarding what may have happened to Prime and the others."

"What were you able to grab?" Bryan asked, his full attention on her now.

"Well... pictures mostly... of a burnt out and smoldering truck sporting the Autobot symbol. I'm sorry guys, but it looks like they may have killed the others."

There was complete silence in the cab for a few minutes before Wheeljack spoke up. "Slag... Prowl isn't going to be happy about this. Him and Jazz were... well, we all know how him and Jazz were. To find out that Jazz may have been taken offline... I'm not sure he'll take it even remotely well."

xxxxxx

Simmons sputtered as he was doused in cold water, the spray hitting him right in the face. "Wake up stupid." Kasey stated, spraying him down with the hose. She turned it off when she figured he was sufficiently awake.

Before Simmons opened his eyes, he heard what sounded like a kitchen knife being drawn across a steel. He groaned a little, trying to stand up he found that he was tied down to the chair, to the point where he wasn't going anywhere without any help.

"You fucked up."

The second voice of night didn't do much to make Simmons feel any better. He opened his eyes and found Kasey standing in front of him, holding the hose off to the side. Looking past her, he saw Bryan sharpening a smaller version of a machete, paying more attention to his task rather than looking up at Simmons.

"See, you pissed off just about every human on our team, so we really have no reason to keep the Autobots from killing you." Bryan said, holding the blade up to inspect his work, the sharp edge glinting in the light. "And as if that wasn't bad enough, we've got photo evidence that whatever team you dispatched to Nevada, killed our team there including the Autobots stationed there - including Optimus Prime." There was another pause as he started sharpening again. He didn't say anything else until he put the steel down, whipping the blade on a cloth before holding it back up to the light.

"Now, you took out the leader of the Autobots. And while I haven't seen the photos myself, I understand the team offlined Jazz as well. So that leaves the third in command, Prowl. And he isn't so keen on the 'don't harm the humans' thing. No, see, Prowl works off loyalty. Now, we've all be loyal to the Autobots, so he likes us." Bryan paused, setting the blade down, sitting on the table and folding his arms over his chest. "You, on the other hand, are a completely different story."

Out of the corner of his eye, Simmons saw movement off to his left. He turned to see that Maria had joined the group, she was carrying a throwing knife in her right hand, twirling it around her index finger. "You also killed my team leader and my second in command." Maria stated as she stopped spinning the blade, holding it steady in her hand. "Which puts me in charge, and I am far less forgiving than Mei and Maya ever were."

Simmons looked from one person to the next, shuddering as the effect of the cold air mixed with the water he had been sprayed with started to take it's toll. "You're talking treason against the United States." He started. "I am a federal officer, and you all work for the government! Killing me in treason!"

Bryan shook his head, chuckling deep in the back of his throat. "Ever hear of something called 'Underground Operations'?"

Simmons' breath caught in his throat as he stared up at the other man. He had heard of such things, but only as rumors.

Bryan grinned when he saw the response. "I used to be apart of one of those teams, and I still retain my rank and my status, so killing you won't be treason." Bryan was more than surprised to see a grin snake it's way onto Simmons' face.

"Killing me means that you won't find your parents."


End file.
